Michael Owen is set to miss Liverpool's trip to Portsmouth due to a shin injury that has sidelined him for a fortnight.
The England striker has still only done gym work in his recovery programme andhas yet to join in full training.
It means that boss Gerard Houllier is likely to field the same side that beatOlimpija Ljubljana in the UEFA Cup on Wednesday.
He could bring back Stephane Henchoz, who returned in that 3-0 win as a latesubstitute after a long spell out with calf problems, but Igor Biscan has impressed as the Swiss star's defensive replacement.
Dietmar Hamann is back in training and Chris Kirkland now recovered from hisknee trouble to take his place on the bench.
But Liverpool still have Danny Murphy, Jamie Carragher, Milan Baros and BrunoCheyrou on the sick list.
Provisional squadDudek, Finnan, Biscan, Henchoz, Hyypia, Riise, Diouf,Gerrard, Le Tallec, Kewell, Smicer, Heskey, Sinama-Pongolle, Traore, Kirkland,Welsh, Diao.