MatchThe inside track on Plymouth: 'It has been eventful - but there are good signs'

The Reds make the long journey south to Home Park for a 3pm GMT kick-off, which will be a first meeting between the teams since 2017 – also in this competition.

For the lowdown on the Pilgrims, Liverpoolfc.com spoke to football reporter Chris Errington from the Plymouth Herald…

Chris, thank you for speaking to us. Firstly, could you give us an insight into the season so far for Plymouth? It appears up and down…

It has been eventful - very eventful - and difficult, too. Argyle appointed Wayne Rooney as their new head coach last summer and that led to them being much more in the national spotlight than they are used to. It did not start well with a season-opening 4-0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday and heavy losses became a regular occurrence, leading to Rooney leaving his role on New Year's Eve with the Pilgrims bottom of the Championship.

They remain there now, but have picked up four points from their last two games, drawing 2-2 at Sunderland and then beating West Bromwich Albion 2-1 at Home Park last Saturday for their first league win since November 5. The hope is that Miron Muslic, the 42-year-old Austrian who was brought in as Rooney's replacement the day before Argyle's surprise 1-0 FA Cup third-round win at Brentford, is starting to make his influence felt on the team.

And who have been the key players for Plymouth so far this season? Which players should Liverpool fans be looking out for in particular?

Club captain Joe Edwards was having an excellent season until he suffered a long-term hamstring injury in late October and he is still sidelined. His absence, not just at right-back or wing-back but as a leader on the pitch, has been a big blow for Argyle.

Striker Ryan Hardie has been with the Pilgrims since January 2020 and a regular goalscorer during his time at the club. Like for most of his teammates, it has been a struggle for him this season and he had only netted twice before getting both goals in the win against West Brom last Saturday as a second-half substitute. Hardie likes to use his pace to run in behind opposition defences and never makes it easy for centre-backs.

Were there any key arrivals or departures at Plymouth throughout the winter transfer window?

The headline departure was that of Morgan Whittaker, who joined Middlesbrough. Whittaker scored 19 goals for Argyle in the Championship last season and that was one of the reasons why they were able to stay in the division. He only netted four times this term but is a player of undoubted ability. Another significant departure from Home Park was former Everton defender Lewis Gibson, who often captained the side this season with Joe Edwards out injured. Gibson joined Preston North End.

Of Argyle's five transfer window signings, four of them were defensive-minded, with centre-backs Maksym Talovierov and Nikola Katic both impressing on their debuts against West Brom. Talovierov, a Ukraine international, joined on a permanent transfer from Austrian club LASK, while Bosnian international Katic arrived on loan from FC Zurich in Switzerland.

Miron Muslic is fairly new to the club as head coach. Can you give us insight into what style of play he has tried to implement and what his impact has been so far?

It's still early days for Muslic. It was a hectic start for him with four games in 12 days and he remarked at one stage there had been more matches than training sessions after taking charge. He made his name with Cercle Brugge in the Belgian Pro League, taking them into the Europa Conference League for this season, before leaving them in December.

He has generally looked to set up Argyle in a 3-4-2-1 formation, although injuries have not always made that possible. Muslic wants a high-intensity, high-press style of play, and there are signs Argyle are beginning to adjust to that.

And tell us about the reaction to the draw from Plymouth supporters. They will have memories of meeting Liverpool in 2017…

Argyle's Green Army certainly enjoyed their day out at Anfield in January 2017 when the Pilgrims, then a League Two side, drew 0-0 in an FA Cup third-round tie, to set up a replay at Home Park. The irony of that night was that probably the shortest player on the pitch, Lucas Leiva, scored the only goal with a header! The supporters are certainly looking forward to this rematch, but I think if you offered them a defeat by Liverpool but a home Championship win against Millwall next Wednesday, they would absolutely take that.

Lastly, is there anything else you think we should know about Plymouth ahead of the tie?

This is not Argyle-related as such, but Plymouth is a great, underrated waterfront city. The Hoe is spectacular, the historic Barbican harbour area is full of great places to eat and drink. It's well worth a visit! The Green Army, and the city as a whole, are proud of their team. Home Park should be rocking on Sunday.