Despite the fact that he is using the competition to blood his younger players, Roy Hodgson insists the Reds are taking the Carling Cup seriously this season.
"It's a strange game for us in a sense. It's one where we definitely need to rotate the squad having played so many games, and with us having to play so many more before the international break," said the boss.
"But on the other hand it's a competition I take very seriously and I want to have a good run in the competition. We are bothered.
"There's a responsibility on those who replace the big-name players like Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Pepe Reina and Jamie Carragher to name but four. And to be fair they've shown themselves capable of taking on that burden in a couple of European matches already.
"As we saw in the last game against Steaua Bucharest, Jay Spearing was arguably one of the best players on the field. If you never give him a chance, how do you know that?"