BBC Sport - Liverpool v Hull City Date: Wednesday, 1 January Liverpool could welcome back Steven Gerrard after the England midfielder returned to training following a hamstring injury. Joe Allen (abductor strain) and Mamadou Sakho (hamstring) are likely to miss out after picking up knocks in Sunday's 2-1 defeat by Chelsea. Hull City boss Steve Bruce could keep faith with the side that thrashed Fulham 6-0 on Saturday. Winger Robbie Brady is a concern with his on-going groin problem. They've gone from top at Christmas to fifth to start the new year, but if Liverpool can reproduce the consistent performances and points total of 2013 over the next 12 months, then their progress and strides forward will certainly continue. Whilst they are still title challengers, a return to the top four was always the main objective and you sense they will never have a better chance of achieving that than this season. The omens are good - the team that has been top at Christmas has gone on to finish in the top four in each of the last 15 seasons. Hull will be on a high on the back of their 6-0 win over Fulham and they beat Liverpool at the KC Stadium at the start of December. They have quickly turned themselves into a good Premier League team and their midfield is clearly their strongest department.. Liverpool haven't beaten any of the four teams that start the year above them, but all of those fixtures have been away and they all have to visit Anfield in the second half of the campaign. Their home form represents a positive turnaround. In seasons gone by they have struggled to beat the teams they've been expected to. However with the exception of a reverse against Southampton they've won every home game including the last six in a row and scored 23 goals in the process. In contrast, goals had been hard to come by for Hull this season before their stunning victory over Fulham to end their memorable year on a high. To begin the new year in 10th place with 23 points on the board is testament to the fantastic job Steve Bruce has done and has given them a real foundation to survive. The 6-0 win against Fulham was a timely one ahead of games against Liverpool and Chelsea but they've asked questions of all the top teams so far and been competitive in most matches. They'll have a game plan but will feel anything gained from this one will be an added bonus. After a tough festive period on the road, Liverpool should relish being back home again. Hull's 3-1 win against Liverpool in December was the first time in their history the Tigers had beaten the Reds (D4, L12). Liverpool have won three of their five Premier League matches with Hull. Luis Suarez has never netted against Hull City - the only other current Premier League side he has failed to score against is Cardiff. Two of Hull's seven Premier League goals scored against Liverpool have been own goals (from Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtel) The Merseysiders have lost their last two games in the Premier League - the first time this season they have suffered successive top-flight defeats. However, the Reds have won their last six home games, winning eight of nine league matches at Anfield in total this term. Only Manchester City (38) have scored more goals on home turf than Liverpool's tally of 25. Of Luis Suarez's 19 goals in 2013-14, 16 have come against bottom-half opposition and just three against the top half (two versus Tottenham and one against Everton). Liverpool have scored the first goal on 14 occasions this season - the joint-best record in the division. The Tigers ended a run of four games without a win with a 6-0 victory against Fulham last time out. Robert Koren's brace in that win was the first time this season a Hull player had scored more than a single goal in a game. Hull have never won a Premier League match in the month of January (D3, L4). Steve Bruce is looking for a first home-away 'double' over Liverpool as a manager since his Birmingham side completed the feat in 2004-05. With victory against Fulham, Hull became the fourth team this season to score five or more goals in a game after Liverpool, Manchester City and Newcastle.