Steven Gerrard returned to the fold against Leicester to give one of his best performances of the season.
Brendan Rodgers indirectly complemented himself by saying that his captain’s performance was this good because he had extra energy from being rested for the last game.
We do expect Gerrard to play fewer games over the next year or so. But can Liverpool afford to leave him out at the weekend?
We would have to say no. He was the driving force behind a crucial Liverpool victory in mid week and the club is desperate to build momentum. We like to see managers start with their best side and then bring their key players off when the requisite damage has been done.
That said, it’s a home game against a struggling side and Rodgers may feel he can afford to bench Gerrard again. But he will do so at his peril.
Sturridge, Balotelli, Sakho and Flanagan are the injury doubts for this one with only the Italian standing any chance of making the side.
We expect Lambert to start up top on Saturday (kick off 15:00 local time) and Liverpool have to take the three points if they want to say with the leading pack.
Here is our strongest XI. Liverpool fans: would you start with Gerrard?
