Rabotnicki Skopje    v    Liverpool

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE THIRD QUALIFYING ROUND FIRST LEG:Venue: Philip II Arena, Skopje Date: Thursday, 29 July Kick-off: 1945 BSTCoverage: Live text commentary on BBC Sport website; regular reports on BBC Radio 5 live; Also live on LFC TV

Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson has resisted the temptation to rush some of his senior players back early.

The Reds are in Macedonia to play Rabotnicki Skopje in the Europa League third qualifying round on Thursday.

And Hodgson has left behind England quartet Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Glen Johnson and Joe Cole.

But defensive trio Martin Skrtel, Daniel Agger and Sotirios Kyrgiakos were among the squad that left for Macedonia from Liverpool on Wednesday.

Hodgson has chosen to give more recovery time to Gerrard and Cole, along with their England team-mates Carragher and Johnson, who have all been back in pre-season training for a week, having been in South Africa for the World Cup finals.

With the Merseysiders desperate to ensure qualification for the group stages of Europe's second-tier club competition, the Reds boss had considered selecting a more experienced side than originally planned.

Instead, youngsters such as Jonjo Shelvey, Nathan Eccleston, Martin Hansen, Peter Gulacsi, David Amoo, Lauri Dalla Valle and Tom Ince have been included in the 20-man travelling party.

Midfielder Alberto Aquilani is expected to be fit and available, despite missing Saturday's 1-0 defeat by Kaiserslautern with a knee problem.

Liverpool's two Argentina internationals Javier Mascherano and Maxi Rodriguez, who have returned to pre-season training after their post-World Cup holiday, were also not among the squad that travelled.

Striker Fernando Torres is also missing with a groin injury, while Netherlands forward Dirk Kuyt is another who did not fly with the squad.

Liverpool squad: Cavalieri, Aquilani, Agger, Jovanovic, Kyrgiakos, Lucas, Wilson, Ngog, Spearing, Darby, Shelvey, Kelly, Skrtel, Eccleston, Ayala, Hansen, Gulacsi, Amoo, Dalla Valle, Ince.