Brendan: Why 3-5-2 can work for Reds

With injury leaving full-backs Aly Cissokho and Glen Johnson on the sidelines in recent weeks, the manager utilised different formations during September, including a set-up with three central defenders.

The switch worked perfectly on the side's last outing, with a solid defensive platform allowing Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez to cause havoc at the other end in a 3-1 victory over Sunderland last Sunday.

At his pre-match press conference today, journalists quizzed Rodgers on whether 3-5-2 is now his preferred formation. "It will depend on the players that are available," he reflected.

"When we tried it last year, we looked at it in training and then played it in a couple of games. But you have to see it under pressure and have to see where you need to adapt things.

"The players have carried it out really well in the last couple of games. It can be a system that works for us; but what doesn't change is our idea of the game, how we want to pass, how we want to be aggressive in our attack.

"It gives us numbers going forward, which is important. It's another system that the players have shown we can play. With more play and more development, it's one that we can flip to quite easily.

"It's wherever you can get superiority in the game. If I look at Daniel and Luis Suarez, they are both nine-and-a-halves. They are not straight up and down strikers, they like to move and get in between.

"The game is evolving all the time; as a coach you are always looking at your players. The style never changes. I've always asked teams to control and dominate the ball, be aggressive in your defending, and press really aggressively and high up the pitch - but that can be in whatever system.

"The system is irrelevant; it's normally based on the characteristics of your players. If you have got them [Sturridge and Suarez] through the middle, moving and interchanging, then your structure has to then change behind that, and that's obviously something that we have done."

[OTPA_WIDGET_CONTENT]

Victory in the north east lifted Rodgers' charges to second in the Barclays Premier League and the Reds can further consolidate that position on Saturday when Crystal Palace visit Anfield.

The manager added: "We're just enjoying working well at the moment. The beauty for me is that I think we've still got a lot of improvement to make.

"The players have been clinical in games for the majority - we've won four out of six - so their appetite for the game is very good. It was a tough game last week at Sunderland but our quality came through in the end.

"You align that with how hard the players are working then it's great for me to see that. There are still lots of areas that we can be better but we have confidence and belief at the moment. We'll just look to keep winning the next game.

"We know it will be a really difficult game. We've got to treat it like a cup final and work very hard. If we can do that, hopefully our quality comes through. Our reaction has been very good.

"We played well in a couple of games and got the result in the last one. The atmosphere at Anfield has been brilliant for us this year. We have to make sure our football and the quality and intensity of our game gets the crowd up again.

"When we do that, Anfield is a very difficult place to play. I'm very keen to make sure we have a good record at home because if we're going to be a team challenging, then that record at home has to be very good."

Lucas Leiva received his fifth caution of the campaign against the Black Cats and will miss the match with Palace due to suspension, prompting questions on how the boss intends to replace the Brazilian.

Watch the video here »

"He has come back very well from his injury over the last number of months," said Rodgers. "This season we have seen him start well.

"Of course, players will miss out - Daniel Agger didn't play in the last game. But with players coming in, the idea is to have a squad so that when you miss someone, someone else can come in and work.

"There's no doubt Lucas has started the season well. He's a very honest, committed player who understands what it is we're trying to do.

"It will give an opportunity for someone else to come in. Hopefully that will prove seamless and they can come in and continue with a good performance.

"It's making the players that are in there aware that there is a responsibility tactically. We've got players to come back, like Joe Allen, who can play that role.

"Whoever plays in there understands the dynamics that are required; they might have to curtail their game a little bit because if you go in, move freely and empty that space then it leaves it too open.

"Our movement and fluidity in the other half of the field is getting better but you always have to ensure you have that tactical discipline.

"That's something we talk about every day. Tactically, we work very hard on the game, and whoever plays in there will have to have a similar function."

One suggestion put forward by reporters gathered at Melwood was that midfielder Jordan Henderson could be moved from his right-sided berth to a more central role this weekend.

The Northern Irishman said: "I've been so impressed since I've been here: Jordan has become better and better. His level, tactically, is very good. He's one that wants to improve all the time.

"If I didn't think he could play the role and function in the role properly, I wouldn't put him there. So it's great credit to him.

"At the end of last season, he played as a false winger from the left, coming inside and got goals. He played his first season here wide on the right. He's played as a wing-back, wide of midfield in a four.

"In all the systems, what you get from him is a work-rate and a mentality, and Jordan has got quality. I don't see it as a hindrance for him, I see it only as a positive. I know he's really enjoying playing.

"Wherever he plays, there's no drop-off - you still get the same. He's one of those players that you could play him at right-back, which I've done sometimes.

"He's a really good, young footballer whose understanding of the game is improving all the time. That allows him to play in a number of different positions."