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Simon Mignolet believes Christian Benteke is ready to spearhead Liverpool’s pursuit of glory this season.

The £32.5million striker, who was sidelined for a month with a hamstring injury, has made a big impact in his past two Reds appearances – coming off the bench to score against both Southampton and Chelsea.

Mignolet knows Benteke well having shared the Belgium dressing room with him prior to his summer move from Aston Villa and says Liverpool supporters are starting to see the best of the big frontman.

“It’s nice for Christian after his injury to come back in and help the team with goals – that’s what you want as a striker,” Mignolet said.

“It will give him confidence. When he came on against Chelsea he held the ball up really well which is very important, especially when you play away from home. That’s one of his big strengths.

“Everybody knows what his strengths are and we can really use them as a team. We are all really pleased that he’s back fit.

“I know he will do really well for us this season.”

Mignolet admits Jurgen Klopp’s squad arrived in Russia ahead of Thursday night’s Europa League clash with Rubin Kazan on a high after their impressive 3-1 win over Chelsea last weekend.

That victory extended Klopp’s unbeaten run since he took over to five matches and now the focus turns to improving their position in the Europa League.

The Reds currently sit second in Group B – four points adrift of leaders FC Sion but a point clear of both Kazan and Bordeaux.

“There is huge belief and confidence within the group and that feeling of scoring goals and winning games, you want to keep it,” Mignolet said.

“That’s why we’re looking forward to the next game. Everybody was very happy with the result against Chelsea, but that’s behind us now and there’s no point thinking any more about it. We have to move on and make sure we do the same thing against Kazan.

“As a player you always want to play big games and this is a big game against Kazan. It’s very important as we try to get through into the next stage.

“Whenever you put on the shirt, there’s only one thing on your mind – to win the game. That doesn’t change, no matter what competition we’re playing in.

“We will try to perform the best we can to get the three points."

How many goals can Christian Benteke score for the Reds this season? Let us know below.