Mignolet: It's a completely different game
Liverpool must forget all about last season's horror show at Stoke and look to make a fresh start when the teams meet again today, according to Simon Mignolet.
The goalkeeper was part of a Reds side that shipped six goals against the Potters in May as a difficult 2014-15 campaign came to a disappointing end.
But he insists that every game is 'completely different' and doesn't believe Liverpool's last visit to the Britannia Stadium will have any bearing on proceedings this time around.
"It was one to forget and it wasn't one that was easily forgotten but every single game is a new 90 minutes of football and every 90 minutes is completely different," he told Liverpoolfc.com.
"We go there with the idea of doing well and thinking about our own game. That's the only thing we can do, we can't look back over our shoulder.
"There's a new game of football to be played and we focus on our own job."
Though Mark Hughes has applied his own blueprint since taking charge of Stoke, they retain a reputation for being able to mix things up and play physical football when necessary.
That approach poses particular problems for goalkeepers, who are regularly tasked with plucking high balls from the air in a crowded box at the Britannia.
Mignolet says he will approach the game as he does every other, however, and will start out with the simple target of keeping a clean sheet across the 90 minutes.
"I think every game and every game we play in the Premier League is tough so it doesn't really matter who the opponent," he added.
"For us it's about making sure we put in the performance we want to both individually and collectively so I will try to make sure I'm mentally prepared to play my own game.
"Like in every single game we want to keep a clean sheet, that will be the initial idea.
"And the most important thing is then to score a goal and win the game.
"So we'll get our gameplan sorted for the weekend and hopefully that works out."
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