IF Kevin Nolan was disappointed after being dropped in midweek, he will be mortified if he is sidelined again on Sunday.

Liverpool fixtures are red-letter days in the Nolan household -- a fact measured by the increase in demand for tickets for friends and family whenever they come around.

So this is hardly the best time for the young midfielder to be out of favour.

But both he and Brazilian defender, Julio Cesar, who were the casualties of the shake-up after the Fulham defeat, were given personal assurances by Sam Allardyce that the measure is not a permanent one.

"They are not going to be out of the side forever," the manager said.

"I know Kevin can probably look round and ask 'Why was I the one?' and maybe Julio can say the same. But I couldn't let the performance at Fulham go by without making any changes.

"As a manager, when you stick your neck on the line, it's nice to get the result that justifies your decisions.

"I know it disappointed Kevin, as it will have disappointed Julio. Other players played badly but they'll be thinking it's all their fault.

"Players don't see beyond themselves and I don't expect them to."

With an injury-free squad to select from, apart from Florent Laville who is still at least two weeks away from resuming full training, Allardyce is expected to stand by the side he started with at Southampton with Radhi Jaidi preferred to Cesar and Stelios in for Nolan.