Rodgers: I'm the favourite to get sacked

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers admits he is the favourite to be sacked following the club's poor start to the season.

The Reds narrowly missed out on the Premier League title last season, a year that saw Rodgers named manager of the year, but only four wins from their opening 12 games leaves his side in 12th position.

And although the Northern Irishman signed a "long-term" deal last May, it has led to calls from some quarters for the club to replace the 41-year-old.

He told reporters: "A few months ago I was manager of the year, now I'm tipped to get sacked. All I can focus on is what you can control."

Having lost Luis Suarez to Barcelona in the summer and seen Daniel Sturridge sidelined by a number of injury problems, Rodgers admits he has been "dealt a different hand this season," though he admits Liverpool need to improve in the coming weeks if they are to meet their objective of qualifying for the Champions League.

"We just need to focus on the now, not dwell on the bad results," he added. "We get to go again. We were competitive against Ludogorets, we worked well and now we want to take this into the Premier League against Stoke.

"There's a lot of time left, a big chunk of the season to go. We have been nowhere near what we would expect. We're five points off the top four and the points total is the lowest it has been in the Premier League, so it tells you it is a unique league this year.

"Our objective, like last season, is fourth."

Rodgers also confirmed that Mario Balotelli - a €20 million summer signing from AC Milan - will have to continue to wait for his first Premier League goal for the Reds, with injury ruling him out of this weekend's clash, while Mamadou Sakho will also miss out.