Crouch and Kuyt to survive the Rafa rotation

14 April 2012

As Liverpool go looking for their fourth successive Anfield win, Rafa Benitez has made it clear that he is ready to give Peter Crouch and Dirk Kuyt a run in the side together.

Benitez and his squad are clearly in a far better mood than they were following their defeat at Manchester United 13 days ago, having since secured three home victories - over Reading in the Carling Cup, Aston Villa in the Premiership, and Bordeaux in the Champions League.

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Reading make a quick return for Saturday's Premiership game, and Benitez, although unlikely to field an unchanged side, will nevertheless stick with the strike partnership which served him so well in the last two matches.

Craig Bellamy has recovered from a calf problem but is not considered match fit and Benitez said: "Robbie Fowler has been playing well, but I think Crouch and Kuyt will now have more possibilities and the understanding between the two is good.

"The players now have confidence and are scoring goals. We were creating a lot of chances but we needed to score goals, so to score 10 goals in a few games is important, especially for the strikers.

"We know we have enough quality going forward and if we keep clean sheets then we have the possibility to win a lot of games."

Crouch, 6ft 7in, came in for some light-hearted stick following a team-building go-kart session yesterday when he was left trailing in the race, but is set for the chance to establish himself in a regular front-line partnership with £9million signing Kuyt.

Benitez said: "I wasn't there, but I have been told that it was really funny that Peter was driving and couldn't get his legs in the kart.

"People sometimes wonder when you do these kind of things, but last season we went clay pigeon shooting, and did some quadbiking and some paintballing, which was very dangerous for me as I kept on being caught in the middle.

"We were doing things like this at Valencia and with the second and third teams at Real Madrid we even had a mini Olympics with lots of different events. It was funny for the players watching us do silly things."

England defender Jamie Carragher will make his 300th Premiership appearance for Liverpool. Benitez said: "Carra is one of the most consistent players in the team. A player who can make 300 appearances at a top club and always at a very good level is someone who is consistent and who any manager would want to sign.

"It is important to have players with the character that Carra has. They are players who can push the team because they have something extra."

Reading boss Steve Coppell is only too aware of the task facing his side.

"You look at Liverpool's players and you see a European Cup-winning team two seasons distant," said Coppell. "Like all teams at the top end, they have talent in abundance. With the money spent on their squad and the money spent on our squad, it's an accident we're in the same league as them."

Coppell, a Liverpool fan in his youth, recalls the twist of fate that led him away from Anfield as a player and into a career with arch-rivals Manchester United instead.

"As a youngster at Tranmere we played on Friday nights and Ron Yeats was our manager. He was aware that I was a Liverpool fan and told me: 'They are here watching you tonight.' I got scared and played rubbish. Because I was a Liverpool fan, I was more nervous that they might want me.

"Manchester United were in the Second Division, but you do not turn down United whoever you are. And as soon as I drove down the East Lancs Road and turned up at the stadium, I knew I'd made the right decision."

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