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Trying to predict Liverpool FC ’s centre-back combination has only been marginally easier than selecting the winning National Lottery numbers so far this season.

Fitness, form and Brendan Rodgers ’ horses for courses approach to Premier League matches has led to the Reds boss repeatedly making alterations to his backline.

Having started the campaign with new signing Kolo Toure and vice-captain Daniel Agger, Rodgers turned to Martin Skrtel after Toure got a knock.

When Agger was ruled unfit for duty at Swansea, there was a debut for £15million Frenchman Mamadou Sakho alongside Skrtel.

That experiment proved shortlived with the Dane rushed back to partner Skrtel in the home defeat to Southampton.

Rodgers’ desire to play a system designed to get the best out of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge led to him making the switch to a back three in late September. Toure, Sakho and Skrtel got the nod for five successive league games with Agger relegated to bench duty.

However, with Liverpool leaking goals there was a return to a flat back four when Agger and Skrtel lined up against Fulham.

A first clean sheet in eight games followed but the defensive vulnerability the Reds displayed in the 3-3 draw with Everton saw Agger axed for last weekend’s trip to Hull City.

Toure partnered Skrtel for the first time but they endured a torrid afternoon as Liverpool crashed to a miserable defeat. Another defensive reshuffle is expected for Wednesday's clash with Norwich City at Anfield.

Having put his faith in five different centre-back combinations already this season, Rodgers is still searching for the right mix.

The fact that the Reds have conceded more goals away from home than lowly Crystal Palace adds weight to the belief that so much chopping and changing breeds uncertainty.

Asked if he needed to pick a centre-back pairing and stick with it, Rodgers said: “Yes, absolutely. This is an important area of the team.

“It's something I need to look at in order to get that consistency.

“There has been lots of change and some of that has been down to me, knowing every game is an absolute cup final for us.

“If I feel I need to change it going into a game to get a result then I will do.

“But of course I also need to look at it from the coaching perspective as well. That little run in the team might breed the consistency even though we have had to change a number of positions."

Sakho was one of three centre-backs Rodgers signed last summer at a combined cost of around £22million. The 23-year-old, who arrived from Paris Saint-Germain, was joined by Toure and youngster Tiago Ilori.

Since scoring the goals which fired France to the World Cup finals last month, Sakho hasn't featured for the Reds.

The most expensive centre-back in the club's history has been an unused substitute for the past three matches.

Sakho has yet to convince his manager that he should be a mainstay of the team with his debut at Swansea still the only occasion he has started in his favoured position as part of a back four.

“Ilori was always going to be one for the future, to develop, but Sakho was going to one who came in and challenged and there’s no real change to that,” Rodgers said.

“He came in at a time when we went to a back three and did reasonably well. He’s working very hard to come into the starting line up.

“That’s where we are at. He’s a good player, an international, and if he is working well enough in training and the team is not doing so well, it could open up the door for him.

“The last couple of games we were disappointed with the goals at Everton and obviously we made mistakes at Hull.

“That has been the difficulty for us, getting that balance, the partnership that could cope with all types of strikers.”

It was balance that convinced Rodgers to ditch vice-captain Agger last weekend.

The manager came to the conclusion that Toure would be better equipped to deal with Hull frontman Yannick Sagbo.

There is a feeling that despite Agger and Skrtel boasting more than 400 Liverpool appearances between them, there is a lack of both leadership and a commanding presence when they play together.

Agger's ability to bring the ball out from the back appears ideally suited to Rodgers' style of play, but he has blotted his copybook with how he has been out-muscled, especially from set-pieces, at times this season.

“I just felt we've struggled at times against big physical opponents and Toure has obviously coped well with that type of player,” Rodgers said.

“That was the idea with putting Toure in against Hull, and obviously Skrtel has been excellent since coming in. It was simply tactical.

“What do I look for in a centre-back? The first thing you have to do is defend.

“The first attribute isn’t about the ball. It is to defend. When you can defend, you then look to build the game from there.”

Injuries to first choice full-backs Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique have also hampered the Reds defensively so far this term.

A big improvement will be expected from Johnson on Wednesday night after his standards slipped alarmingly against Everton and Hull.

On the other flank, Rodgers is set to reward the efforts of stand-in left-back Jon Flanagan with a third successive start.

“I thought Jon Flanagan was excellent at Hull. In all the negativity after the game I don’t think he gave the ball away once,” Rodgers said.

“He was outstanding. He’s played the last two games away from home, he’s stood up to the challenge and made no mistakes, and that’s what we want.”

Norwich lifted themselves away from the drop zone with a 1-0 win over Palace at Carrow Road last weekend.

However, Chris Hughton's side have struggled on their travels – losing five out of their six away league matches.

With 16 goals conceded they boast the top flight's worst defensive record on the road and Liverpool thrashed them 5-2 and 5-0 last term.

Anfield has been a happy hunting ground for the Reds in 2013 and Rodgers is looking for more home comfort as his fourth placed side look to get back to winning ways.

“Our results against Norwich last season were excellent but we know they are coming off the back of a win," he added.



“Chris Hughton was under pressure a few weeks back but I don’t think Norwich know what they've got.

“Everyone knows he’s one of the real nice guys in football but what never gets mentioned is the fact he’s an outstanding coach and manager.

“I remember the job he did at Newcastle under massive turmoil. He's doing an excellent job at Norwich and it will be a tough game for us.

"But Anfield is where we love to play. When I came in I could sense anxiety around the place but now we go into home games free-flowing and with a really good mindset.

“At Anfield this calendar year we've had 15 games where we've won 10, drawn three and lost two so our record has been very good."