"He's in the squad tomorrow and he will have possibilities. We have to see about the physical condition of the players. When you ask them if they are fit, they will all say yes. I need to take a look at each one," said the Liverpool boss.
"Javier is training really hard. It's not been easy for him; he's a young player, but he's happy now and he's desperate to play.
"I think he can do well - he has the game intelligence we are looking for. Also, he can play with players with quality like Zenden, Sissoko, Alonso and Gerrard - I think this can be a help to him.
"If you had an English player in the national team at the age of 22, you'd all be saying he is a very good player. Mascherano has 22 caps for Argentina and he is only 22. For me, that shows the mentality, character, quality and personality of this player."