Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez admits he is wary about risking his big-name players in Saturday's game at Birmingham City.
The trip to St Andrews is sandwiched between the club's UEFA Champions League semi-final tussle with Chelsea, with the first leg having finished 1-1 at Anfield on Tuesday.
Benitez will send his team out at Birmingham this weekend mindful of the implications of any of his key players picking up injuries ahead of next Wednesday's jaunt to Stamford Bridge.
Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard have both asked to play against Birmingham, but Benitez is not keen to gamble with his squad.
"Everybody wants to play every game, I was talking with two or three big names and they said 'I want to play, I want to play', but I will have to analyse each one and then decide," said Benitez.
"The most important thing is the team and the club, so I cannot say 'yes' to everyone. It will mean I am taking risks, and I do not want to take risks.
"But the players want to play as much as possible, it shows the character and the mentality of the team."
The Reds sent out a shadow side to beat Fulham 2-0 in the Premier League last weekend and Benitez feels this Saturday's match with Birmingham is a chance for his fringe players to stake a claim for a possible Champions League final appearance.
He added: "I have told the players that it is important for everyone to play well, show quality and be ready, you never know when you will be needed.
"So whoever plays against Birmingham, or the weekend after against Manchester City, they have to play well. They may even have a chance to play in the final.
"We showed at Fulham that we have a squad strong enough to win games like this. We will try, more or less, to do the same this time.
"We will use different players and try to win because we want to make sure of fourth position.
"We will again use our full squad, but also pick a side to win at Birmingham. We did the same thing at Fulham, and won. People can complain, but everyone really needs to think about his own team."
The trip to St Andrews is sandwiched between the club's UEFA Champions League semi-final tussle with Chelsea, with the first leg having finished 1-1 at Anfield on Tuesday.
Benitez will send his team out at Birmingham this weekend mindful of the implications of any of his key players picking up injuries ahead of next Wednesday's jaunt to Stamford Bridge.
Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard have both asked to play against Birmingham, but Benitez is not keen to gamble with his squad.
"Everybody wants to play every game, I was talking with two or three big names and they said 'I want to play, I want to play', but I will have to analyse each one and then decide," said Benitez.
"The most important thing is the team and the club, so I cannot say 'yes' to everyone. It will mean I am taking risks, and I do not want to take risks.
"But the players want to play as much as possible, it shows the character and the mentality of the team."
The Reds sent out a shadow side to beat Fulham 2-0 in the Premier League last weekend and Benitez feels this Saturday's match with Birmingham is a chance for his fringe players to stake a claim for a possible Champions League final appearance.
He added: "I have told the players that it is important for everyone to play well, show quality and be ready, you never know when you will be needed.
"So whoever plays against Birmingham, or the weekend after against Manchester City, they have to play well. They may even have a chance to play in the final.
"We showed at Fulham that we have a squad strong enough to win games like this. We will try, more or less, to do the same this time.
"We will use different players and try to win because we want to make sure of fourth position.
"We will again use our full squad, but also pick a side to win at Birmingham. We did the same thing at Fulham, and won. People can complain, but everyone really needs to think about his own team."
No comments:
Post a Comment