Rodgers: We're excited by big week

The Reds travel to Newcastle United on Saturday lunchtime before jetting out to Spain for the Champions League clash with Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Then the week is rounded off by the visit of Barclays Premier League table-toppers Chelsea to Anfield - and Rodgers will relish the task of trying to obtain three victories.

He told his pre-match press conference at Melwood: "It's why we strengthened the squad - because of weeks like this.

"We made nine changes from the team against Hull to the team against Swansea and we came out with a victory.

"It's a really exciting week, that's the key point. Newcastle will be a tough game, but it's a game we'll relish and look forward to. But that's the only focus at the moment. We want to get the three points there."

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Despite a mixed start to the 2014-15 season, Liverpool are just two points off fourth place in the Premier League table.

Rodgers feels the compact nature of the standings means a run of form could propel his side into the higher echelons of the table.

"If you can get a run of victories, that can move you forward," he explained. "I think the division as a whole is tight. If you can get a sequence of results and get momentum, that's very important. Where they're at now, on the back of three wins, they have got nice momentum.

"But we're coming into the game with big confidence. We had an excellent result the other night [against Swansea].

"We played as well as we have all season in the first half, but didn't get the goals to support that. We went behind after a slower second-half start, but yet again showed the resilience and character of the players to come back and get a victory against a very good side.

"In analysing it afterwards, a couple of years ago [against Swansea in the League Cup] we made a lot of changes in the game at a similar sort of phase and were comprehensively beaten. We made nine changes the other night and we won the game and are through to the quarter-finals.

"It was an excellent result for us and we'll look to take that confidence into the weekend."

Liverpool will journey to the north east on the back of that dramatic late victory over Swansea City in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday night.

The Reds fought back from a goal down to net twice in the final moments and book a place in the quarter-finals.

They do so having fielded a team that contained wholesale changes from the side that had taken to the field in the goalless draw with Hull City just days earlier.

In the absence of Daniel Sturridge due to injury, Rodgers feels he can see his side developing a closer bond all the time - a connection he believes will ultimately yield dividends on the pitch.

"The players that are available are working very, very hard and we're still learning about each other," he said. "I think that sometimes goes amiss - you get new players in and with not as much preparation time, you're learning about them in games.

"I can see each day the relationship growing within the players and the connection. Whenever your players are out it makes it that bit more difficult, but you need to find the solutions in different ways. That's what we've been trying to do and gradually as each day goes by, I sense and feel we are getting better.

"With Daniel out, of course it's a miss, but it's an opportunity. The other night we gave an opportunity to players who haven't featured so much and they were outstanding.

"Fabio Borini was excellent, a real threat. He put in a wonderful cross for the first goal and did very, very well. Lucas Leiva, who hasn't played much, came in and was excellent alongside Jordan Henderson.

"Rickie Lambert, who hasn't had many opportunities, his goals will come. He's working tirelessly every day and had some nice touches the other night. Young Markovic playing on the left hasn't featured so much, but we brought him in for the longer term. He'll get games in this period because we've got confidence he'll be a big player for us.

"Those players will get a chance and hopefully they can take that chance."

It's not just Liverpool who will go into Saturday's game buoyed by a good midweek result.

Newcastle are also into the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup after knocking out holders Manchester City 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.

That scoreline was their third successive win, having also seen off Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur in the league, and Rodgers expects a tough test at St James' Park.

"Sometimes as a team and a coach you need that, when you get a good result away from home," he said. "The Tottenham result was an excellent one for them and then in the game last night [against Manchester City] I thought they were outstanding.

"A lot of the young players came in and Alan changed it about a wee bit, probably looking at our game at the weekend, but I thought they thoroughly deserved the win.

"It was great credit to the people and directors there at Newcastle. I know Alan is a top-class manager, but we all know the pressures of being a manager if you're not winning games. We've seen already this season, the number of boards and owners that change their manager.

"Alan Pardew is a very experienced and talented manager. He must have over 700-odd games behind him and he's an outstanding manager.

"We've seen in his team that they'll get results and we know it'll be a difficult game at the weekend."

Thanks to some epic battles over the years, Liverpool versus Newcastle is the Premier League's highest scoring fixture of all time.

So, one journalist asked, does Rodgers expect goals on Tyneside?

He replied with a smile: "Hopefully only from ourselves - we won 6-0 there a couple of years ago, so if we could do that again it'd be great!

"It's always a good, entertaining game between both teams. We'll want to be solid defensively and look to be creative in attack going forward. Hopefully that can get us three points."