We've talked before about the FA's unfortunate scheduling of Liverpool's next two matches to satisfy Sky Sports, giving them the week's biggest game on Sunday for their prime slot and leaving both Liverpool and Manchester City to play their League Cup quarter final draws two days later later on Tuesday evening. Any way you come at it it's a disgraceful move by the FA, one that speaks to them valuing the whims of Sky over the good of the clubs they're tasked with representing and regulating while displaying a compete disregard for the once-meaningful League Cup. Competence and the English FA may rarely go hand in hand, but even by their low standards this is blatant and bothersome.
It's also led to Kenny Dalglish suggesting that as the club's only priority is getting back into the Champions League, Liverpool will look to play their strongest side on Sunday when City comes to Anfield. In recent weeks, for many this has meant talk of a collection of kids and spare parts getting a run out at Stamford Bridge next Tuesday, but with players like Maxi Rodriguez and Craig Bellamy making strong cases that they should be considered part of the club's best eleven while the increasingly confident defensive duo of Agger and Skrtel poses the question of where exactly Jamie Carragher fits now that he's healthy, one way or the other it won't be just kids playing in the League Cup next week.
The question for this week, then, is more immediate than most: Which match, either Sunday's league fixture against City or Tuesday's cup draw at Chelsea, do you think should be the club's priority? And more than that, which core group of players do you think should be given the chance to win that more important match?
There could of course be tweaks forced by a change in formation or tactics, but if defeating City is the priority, should the core of players like Maxi, Bellamy, Kuyt, and Skrtel and Agger be started on Sunday in a team largely unchanged from the one that defeated Chelsea lat Sunday? Or do you see City as the priority but instead think that means Dalglish should look to bring back those who appeared his preferred starters last month, once again starting players like Henderson, Downing, Carroll, and Carragher?
Conversely, you might see the League Cup and the better chance at silverware it provides as the priority for a club that hasn't added to its trophy case in recent years, but in that case the question remains: Which core group of players do you save for that more important match? The feisty pass and move side that defeated Chelsea in the league? Or is the more direct Carra to Carroll connection the way to go?
Play manager for a day and let us know the answer to those two connected questions. Tell us how you would approach the next two games, both from a personnel standpoint and when it comes to which match you think is more important for Liverpool's season.