Liverpool made five changes from the side which lost at Arsenal on Sunday ahead of tonight’s Premiership game against Fulham in the at Anfield.
Xabi Alonso was suspended and Sami Hyypia, Peter Crouch and Stephen Warnock were rested to the bench, with Jan Kromkamp not in the 16-man squad.
In came Daniel Agger, Robbie Fowler, Fernando Morientes, Djimi Traore and Harry Kewell for a game Liverpool needed to win to maintain realistic interest in finishing second behind Chelsea.
Fulham, without an away win this season, also made changes. Ian Pearce, Michael Brown, Collins John and Tomasz Radzinski all returned to the side following the dismal 3-1 defeat at Everton on Saturday.
And so did Wayne Bridge, who damaged ankle ligaments in England’s friendly win over Uruguay two weeks ago and had not played since.
Meanwhile speculation is growing that Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has extended his contract at Anfield to end fears that he could soon end his spell on Merseyside.
Sources in Spain claim that he will sign a one-year extension to his current five-year contract, taking him to 2010, a deal which would be a "symbolic" gesture to reinforce commitment on both sides.
Benitez has been linked with Real Madrid and Inter Milan, but both clubs have distanced themselves from such a move in the last 48 hours.
In fact, Real are about to appoint a new coach "within two or three weeks" - according to the club’s new president Fernando Martin.
Benitez is approaching the end of his second year at Anfield, and has recently been talking of needing large summer funds to spend on the squad to make it competitive in the Barclays Premiership with Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal.
A source close to Benitez suggests there could be credence to the current speculation and that both the Liverpool board and Benitez would view such an extension as a way of underlining the longevity of the Spaniard’s stay at Anfield.
The source said: "It would be symbolic on both sides.
"Rafael would be saying he is determined to stay at the club while the board would underline their desire for him to be in charge for several seasons."
Benitez currently earns around £2.5million a year and the new deal would include a wage rise, but he pointed out recently that his own finances were not the reason for his concerns about the future and that he was "only concerned about Liverpool’s progression".
So far, despite the speculation being revealed in Spanish sports newspaper Marca, Liverpool have made no official confirmation.
