Origi wants Liverpool to follow Klopp’s plan to the letter

Striker, who scored in the 2-2 draw against Bournemouth, insists Reds firmly on course for CL spot

STOKE-ON-TRENT: Divock Origi insists Liverpool remain firmly on course for the Champions League as they head to Stoke looking to hit back from a frustrating draw with Bournemouth.

Despite Sadio Mane's absence with a knee injury that could keep the Senegal forward out for several weeks, Liverpool's attack still looked potent in Wednesday's 2-2 draw at Anfield.

Philippe Coutinho and Origi were on the scoresheet for the Reds, yet Liverpool had to settle for a point because of defensive errors that presented Benik Afobe and Joshua King with needless goals.

Jurgen Klopp's side remain third in the table, six points ahead of fifth placed Arsenal, but they don't have much margin for error, as all three of the teams immediately behind them have matches in hand.

Belgian striker Origi says they are on course to qualify for next season's Champions League as long as they focus on the fine details of Klopp's game-plan.

"We have to sit down and see what went wrong and what was good and move forward, because there are still a lot of points to play for," said Origi. "If you look at the game, we put a lot of energy in, a lot of work, and we created a lot of chances. But the details count at this level.”

Despite the disappointment of that midweek draw, Liverpool travel to Stoke with confidence fairly high after a five-match unbeaten run.

That solid streak followed a miserable sequence during January and February when Klopp's side won only one of seven league matches and were in serious danger of dropping out of the top four altogether.

Liverpool will have Joel Matip available should Klopp wish to make changes, with the central defender able to appear as a substitute against Bournemouth after recovering from a back injury.

Captain Jordan Henderson's foot problem will be assessed, while forward Adam Lallana remains unavailable after suffering a thigh injury while on duty with England last month.

Stoke will be grateful to return to home turf after losing successive away games at Leicester and Burnley this week.

Although they lost their last game at the Britannia Stadium to leaders Chelsea, Mark Hughes' men have collected 23 points from a possible 45 at home this season compared to just 13 from 48 away.

And they were unbeaten in the eight home Premier League fixtures before the loss to Chelsea.

Defender Marc Muniesa said: "We need to stop that losing run. It's a hard period for us but I think we improved at Burnley from the game at Leicester. We showed some character and the players who haven't been featuring much played well.”