Thompson happy to take a break

With Liverpool currently enjoying a rich vein of form in the Premiership, it could be argued that the international break has come at a poor time for the Reds. Thompson, though, feels that the the enforced break will give Liverpool time to prepare for the trip to Old Trafford.

Thompson said: "You can never tell sometimes if the international break is a good thing or not. We've had a heavy schedule recently so it's good for some of the boys to have a break, although a lot of our lads will be playing internationals.

"You can look at it from two ways. On the one hand we've had a good run in the Premiership, but at the same time we have a bit of time to prepare for our next important game against Manchester United."