Arne Slot is no Brendan Rodgers: Liverpool boss SHOULD bench Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and star men for Real Madrid showdown ahead of huge Premier League fixtures

When the Liverpool teamsheet dropped ahead of the Champions League clash with Madrid on November 5, 2014, both the English and Spanish press were stunned. Brendan Rodgers had made seven changes to the side that had played Newcastle in the Premier League the previous weekend, with Steven Gerrard, Raheem Sterling, Philippe Coutinho and Jordan Henderson among those dropped to the bench.

Former Liverpool striker and Spanish football pundit Michael Robinson labelled it an "incredible starting 11" - and not in a good way. "It's one thing to give players rest and another to not respect the contest," the Irishman posted on Twitter. "I think Rodgers has made a mistake. Thousands of Liverpool fans have come to the Bernabeu to see five key players on the bench. Rodgers has raised the white flag of surrender before the game has started."

Robinson's sentiments were shared by BBC presenter Gary Lineker, who said Rodgers had "thrown in the towel".

"Selecting a weakened side in Europe's premier competition, especially against Real Madrid, is unbefitting of a club of Liverpool's stature," the ex-England forward argued. "If I were one of Liverpool's star players, I'd be choked to be left out of a game at the Bernabeu against the European champions."

Rodgers defended his line-up after the game, effectively arguing that his second string's spirited showing in only losing 1-0 to Karim Benzema's first-half effort had vindicated his decision.

"The performance was far from throwing in the towel," he claimed. "Right to the very end my players put in a performance befitting of the wonderful club this is. That would be my answer [to the criticism]."

However, Rodgers lost an awful lot of credibility when he claimed that a team containing the likes of Lazar Markovic, Fabio Borini and Joe Allen "could get a result" and they had been "unfortunate" not to do so. It was also ludicrous for Rodgers to suggest that he hadn't been resting players for a must-win match with then-Premier League leaders Chelsea just four days later.

The Northern Irishman was under intense pressure at the time. Liverpool had blown a glorious chance to end the club's top-flight title drought the season before and made an atrocious start to the 2014-15 season. They were seventh in the Premier League table - and already 12 points behind leaders Chelsea - when they arrived in Madrid.

Rodgers, then, had clearly prioritised the Premier League - even though Liverpool were just as desperate for points in the Champions League, having already been beaten in Basel and lost at home to Madrid (they would eventually be eliminated after finishing third in weak group that also contained Ludogorets).

The rights and wrongs of the decision are still debated by Liverpool fans to this day. But what do we know for sure?

Firstly, treating the game "like a friendly on a summer to America", as MARCA put it, "greatly damaged" Liverpool's reputation in Spain. Secondly, the ageing Gerrard was among those upset by being benched for such a big game at the Bernabeu, and later admitted that the whole episode played a part in his decision to leave Liverpool at the end of the season.

"It was Real Madrid and I wanted to play," the Kop icon wrote in his autobiography. "When I was told I wasn't playing, for the sake of the team and the squad and my relationship with Brendan, I took it and I accepted it. But I sat on that bench devastated because I wanted to play, so it is one of those situations. It sort of pushed me making a decision to move on and try something different."

When one also considers that Liverpool lost their next game, against Chelsea, it's clear that Rodgers' controversial call could not have worked out any worse, as an awful lot of fans began to lose faith in him and were more than happy to see him sacked less than a year later.

So, should Slot even consider resting his star men for Wednesday's meeting with Madrid at Anfield? After all, if Liverpool maintain their 100 percent recent in this season's Champions League by beating Los Blancos, they'd have a 73% chance of finishing in the top eight, which means progressing directly to the last 16 and avoiding two extra games in the play-off round. Essentially, the higher up the table Liverpool finish, the easier life should be for them going forward.

Mohamed Salah & Co. also have plenty of history with Madrid and would undoubtedly relish piling more pressure on Carlo Ancelotti's men, who only have six points on the board so far. Another defeat would actually put the reigning champions at risk of elimination, given their next outing is against unbeaten Atalanta in Bergamo.

However, even if Liverpool win, it's still highly likely that Madrid will find their way into the last 16 one way or another, given the farcically forgiving format. The Reds, then, really should only be thinking about themselves, and the cold, hard truth is that the meeting with Madrid pales into insignificance compared to Sunday's showdown with Manchester City.

Liverpool's sensational start to the season under Slot has come as a surprise, but it is City's rotten run of form that is truly shocking.

Jurgen Klopp had left the Reds in rude health and there was always the hope that they would enjoy a smooth transition under the German's successor. Slot has still surpassed expectations, of course, by winning 16 of his first 18 games in charge to put Liverpool top of both the Champions League and the Premier League, but first place in the latter is far more important than the former.

The round of 16 in the Champions League may well be seeded, but a tough draw is possible no matter what, with the usual contenders likely to emerge from the league stage and play-offs anyway.

In the Premier League, though, Liverpool are the early pace-setters and have an unexpected opportunity to strike a very serious blow to City's title hopes - and given Pep Guardiola's side have won the past four, and often by coming from behind in the second half of the season, this is an opportunity that simply cannot be passed up or jeopardised in any way, shape or form.

By losing their last three league games, City have fallen eight points behind Liverpool after just 12 rounds. If the champions are beaten again at Anfield, the gap would be 11, and maybe even the peerless Pep and his comeback kings would feel that the game was already up.

As former Liverpool full-back Glen Johnson - who was also benched that night at the Bernabeu - told Betfred, "[Defeat] would be soul-destroying for City. Even if Liverpool win the game, I wouldn't say that the title race is definitely over, but it may make City’s players think that they can’t compete with Liverpool and it could affect them going forward into the remainder of the campaign.

"Mathematically, it wouldn't be over, but mentally, it could well be."

It's also worth noting that in the week following the City game, Slot's side also have two huge away fixtures with the potential to halt there Premier League momentum even if they see off City, as they then visit Newcastle on December 4 before what will almost-certainly be the final - and thus very emotional - Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park three days later as they take on Everton.

It, thus, makes little sense then for Slot to send out Salah, Virgil van Dijk or even Ryan Gravenberch - who is also irreplaceable on current form - for a game that means far more to Madrid than Liverpool, who will have further chances to secure a top-eight finish in the Champions League against Girona, Lille and PSV.

As the spate of injuries suffered by elite-level players so far this season has so painfully underlined, the risk of fatigue and/or injury is far too great right now because of the game's ridiculously congested calendar, and Slot's table-toppers are just about to enter the always treacherous festive period.

The enforced absence of key men has unquestionably contributed to City's difficulties of late, while Madrid have had seven players sidelined by ACL damage in the past year. Ancelotti will also arrive at Anfield without Vinicius Jr, who has made no secret of the fact that he blames the schedule for his unavailability, and the thought of Liverpool losing their own star winger to injury in a relatively meaningless game doesn't bear thinking about, given Salah's stunning form right now.

Slot doesn't need to emulate Rodgers by making wholesale changes against Madrid, but he should unquestionably protect his most important players. There would be no media backlash this time around and the fans would definitely understand too. This wouldn't be an admission of defeat; it would be an acknowledgement of the need to prioritise the Premier League right now.

As everyone already knows, Liverpool have a hugely significant game at Anfield this week - and it's not the visit of the reigning champions of Europe. The rampant Reds can't knock Madrid out of the Champions League on Wednesday, but a fully-fit and firing first-choice line-up could all-but eliminate Manchester City from the English title race on four days later.