FORMER Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson expects his hometown club to head for Anfield with the intention to frustrate free-scoring Liverpool.

Despite last weekend’s goalless draw at Southampton, Liverpool are the Premier League’s biggest goalscorers after scoring 30 times from the opening 12 matches.

That tally is three goals better than Chelsea and Manchester City, and a staggering 18 ahead of Sunderland who have played the same number of games.

Five of Sunderland’s arrived during back-to-back victories over Bournemouth and Hull City; wins which have lifted the Black Cats off the foot of the table above Swansea City.

While there is a new sense of confidence from within the Sunderland camp, Stadium of Light old-boy Henderson does not expect David Moyes’ side to go on the offensive tomorrow.

“I think because of the way we started the season, teams will come and try to defend and break up the play: they’ll want to disrupt our rhythm as much as possible,” said Henderson.

“But that’s part and parcel of football – teams might see that as the best way to get a point, or three, against us. We have to be prepared to face that scenario and when we do come up against it, find the solution to get a win.

“It’s about momentum and keeping it going by retaining the ball well and ensuring the pressure stays on them.”

The Liverpool captain was brought up on Wearside as a Sunderland supporter and has also developed into the England team skipper too under Gareth Southgate.

He left his hometown team in 2011 for £20m at a time when Steve Bruce had suggested he would become a future England player in the Frank Lampard mould if he could add goals to his game.

Sunderland head to Anfield with the intention to frustrate like they have when they have drawn four of their last six matches there.

Henderson, 26, said: “A big part of dealing with opponents who want to keep it tight is about patience from everybody, both us players and our fans.

“The fans always get behind us and in games like that you probably need them to drive you on even more. If they get too impatient or frustrated, that can transmit to the pitch. We all have to keep going and continue to be positive because a goal might come in the last five minutes or the last minute.

“When we score doesn’t matter because it still gets us a result. You have to keep pushing and believing, no matter what the score is.”

Sunderland have learned this week that Paddy McNair will not play again this season after rupturing his cruciate knee ligament.

Moyes has been heartened by the performances – particularly after the last two victories – and a surprise result at Anfield could see Sunderland climb out of the bottom three.

The Sunderland boss is desperate to be in a healthier position come January when he is looking to add to his squad and the extent of his spending could be determined by player sales.

It has emerged Uruguayan Sebastian Coates is being courted by AC Milan, but the situation is complicated by a season-long loan deal with Sporting Lisbon.

Milan have been impressed with his performances in the Portuguese league as well as Champions League and are weighing up a £5m offer for the centre-back.

Sunderland and Sporting have a deal in place which would see him move to Lisbon on a permanent basis next summer, but interest from Serie A has created a different option.

Another Sunderland loan man, Adam Matthews, was dropped last week because he missed a training session after international duty, it has emerged.

Matthews, 24, was left out of Bristol City’s 18-man squad against Birmingham. Robins boss Lee Johnson said: “It was down to a lack of communication really. He was due to be in training with us on the Monday after being released by the Wales squad and didn’t turn up.

“He thought he had an extra day off and it was a misunderstanding. We sent him a text message that he hadn’t read to tell him to be in. He was in Bristol, so it wasn’t like he was out with his mates in Wales. He ended up training later on in that afternoon anyway.”