Rodgers welcomes competition for places

Manager Brendan Rodgers has welcomed the problem of competition for places as his side look to make it four wins from as many English Premier League games this season.

Martin Skrtel replaced the injured Kolo Toure in Liverpool's win over Manchester United and took his chance with a fine performance.

The Slovakian could line up alongside Daniel Agger at Liberty Stadium and Rodgers said it was 'a nice problem to have' with his £18million transfer deadline day signing from Paris Saint-Germain likely to start on the bench.

"I'd rather this than have a lack of talent to choose from. It just keeps everyone on their toes," Rodgers said.

"I want to protect the present and the future of the club. Centre-halves are so hard to find now. You look at some teams, they've still got ageing centre-halves because it's very difficult to get a really good one.

"Sakho is 23. He's an experienced player with full international caps (for France and) looks an absolute monster in training. He's one who's ready for now. That's what we want.

"It's not so much a problem (finding a place for Sakho). If you're winning games, it's very simple.

"The system is king. We will never be reliant on one player. The whole make-up of this is about the team. We can take one out, put one in and still be strong."

Striker Daniel Sturridge, who has made an excellent start to the campaign, could miss because of a thigh injury.

Rodgers would happily settle for another 1-0 win - the scoreline Liverpool have won with every league game this season.

"I think that's a part of the growth of the team," Rodgers said.

"You look at the win against Stoke. We were outstanding in our football but we had to dig in.

"It's never easy at 1-0, no matter how dominant you are. These are characteristics we're working on every day."