Dalglish ready for huge test

The Scot is not averse to effecting a seemingly random change to what appears an established team, often with some degree of success. He did so last weekend when Maxi Rodriguez marked his first league start of the season with a goal in the win at Chelsea but this Sunday the calculations are likely to be even trickier. Craig Bellamy was also recalled to the starting line-up at Stamford Bridge and will be desperate to face the club he left in the summer but waiting in the wings are multi-million pound substitutes like Andy Carroll, Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson who are all eager to reclaim their places. Dalglish will make his selection knowing just over 48 hours after the final whistle at Anfield he will have to send out another side for a Carling Cup quarter-final at Chelsea. But his primary focus will be on picking the right team to face City in a fixture which saw £35million striker Carroll score his first two goals for his new club as the Reds won 3-0 in April. As good as that display was, it will have no bearing on the team which takes the field at the weekend. "You take into account what is happening at the moment," said the Scot. "Andy scored two great goals against them last year but we got our reward for that and so did Andy. "But that is not to say because he scored two last year he will do the same this year - you are giving yourself a bit of a problem if you think that's you finished. "We will start afresh, Andy included, for the game on Sunday and if we can repeat the same result everyone will be happy. "Almost every week we say we are happy with the strength of the squad and there are many examples of when that is reflected in the team selection and the results they have got. "It is no surprise to us so I don't see why it should be a surprise for anyone else. "We have a strong squad who have been a credit to themselves and the club." Carroll has scored three goals this season, two in the league, but his demotion to the bench last weekend was not a reflection of his form. "I went on record as saying Stoke (the Carling Cup win) and West Brom were his two best games for us and I don't think we were too far away in those," added Dalglish. Bellamy has hardly put a foot wrong since rejoining the club in the summer but he has had to mostly resign himself to the role of impact substitute. On his first start he scored against former club Norwich and last weekend he was involved in Rodriguez's important opening goal. The Wales international has impressed Dalglish after returning to the club but even that may not safeguard his position on Sunday. "Craig Bellamy is a fantastic professional footballer; he knows his profession, he knows himself and how to get himself prepared for the games and he has been a huge plus for us since he came in," said the Reds boss. "What has happened elsewhere for Craig at other stages of his career doesn't really concern me. "I am only concerned with what he has done now and we have been absolutely delighted with the way he has gone about his work on and off the pitch." Striker Luis Suarez has been Liverpool's spearhead almost ever since he signed from Ajax in January. There are comparisons being made between what impact the Uruguay international has had at Anfield and the contribution of Argentina's Sergio Aguero, who arrived at City in the summer. Dalglish did not want to play them off against each other but was more than happy to treat them as equals. "They may both be South American but they are from two different countries," he said. "I have not seen a lot of Aguero but he has done well there and scored a few goals. "But I don't think our fella's done much worse than him and I've said many times before that we are delighted to have Luis."