Rodgers: These games are always exciting

Rodgers will face City for a sixth time as manager of the club, with his side looking to banish memories of their Europa League exit at the hands of Besiktas on Thursday night.

The Northern Irishman's first Anfield game as Liverpool boss arrived against City in August 2012, on a day when Luis Suarez's swerving free-kick was cancelled out by a late Carlos Tevez equaliser in a frenetic 2-2 draw.

The same scoreline was conjured at the Etihad Stadium six months later, when Steven Gerrard struck a stunning half-volley to edge the Reds in front, only for Sergio Aguero to level the scores with an improvised strike beyond Pepe Reina.

City prevailed on home soil in the first meeting of 2013-14; however, back at Anfield in April and with so much at stake, Liverpool summoned the spirit to edge a 3-2 encounter which will not be forgotten in a hurry.

"These games are always very good games," Rodgers told reporters gathered at Melwood as he looked ahead to the visit of Manuel Pellegrini's side. "They are a top-class side with some very good players.

"In my time here we've had some great games with them. We're hoping we can take the confidence that we've had in recent months into this game and, with the quality of the players that we have, get a good result."

The last time City were in town to face Liverpool, Anfield was transformed into a cauldron of noise and passion as the Reds sought to make it 10 games won in a row in the Barclays Premier League.

They followed the script as Raheem Sterling and then Martin Skrtel sent the home supporters delirious with joy, but Pellegrini's outfit came back strong after the interval, pegging Rodgers' charges back to 2-2.

Then, in the 78th minute, City skipper Vincent Kompany sliced a clearance into the path of Philippe Coutinho, who wrapped his boot around the ball to curl what would prove to be the match-winning strike.

"It was an outstanding football game," reflected Rodgers. "We could have been three or four up at half-time, at 2-0 we were playing very well. Their quality got them back into the game.

"But then we showed the character that's in this group of players to come back and get the victory. It was an outstanding football game and we played very well.

"But it's a different game and a different challenge for us, especially on the back of the travel and our midweek game. But we'll really relish it and we're glad to be playing at home."

Liverpool exited the Europa League after 120 minutes of football in Istanbul was not enough to separate the Reds and Besiktas and a penalty shootout beckoned at the Ataturk Stadium.

Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Emre Can and Joe Allen all converted from the spot; however, Slaven Bilic's side were unerring from 12 yards - and when Dejan Lovren fired over the bar, the Turkish side had secured victory.

"You can't dwell on it," insisted Rodgers. "The players gave everything over the two games. I'm very proud of the players and how they dealt with a great atmosphere the other night.

"For a lot of our younger players to cope with that will help them in the future. And it went down to penalties. We were reasonably solid in the game in terms of our defensive game. We made one mistake defensively and got punished for it. Then it went to penalties.

"It was one of those unfortunate things for us to go out. But you have to move on quickly, you've got to be positive in your mindset and now it's a different competition. Europe has been an experience for us this year. We'll move on and hopefully finish the season very strongly."

He added: "This year Europe has been an experience for us, both in the Champions League and the Europa League. A lot of young players have gained invaluable experience in Europe this year and they're going to be better for it.

"Going forward, we want to be in those competitions and the Champions League consistently for a number of years. They'll have gained great experience from it this year.

"After next week's game against Burnley, we'll go to nearly one game a week, which probably for the first time this season will give us the chance to fully prepare and be ready in every aspect. It has been a really good learning season for us and we want to finish off the season with those objectives."

Preparation time ahead of the City game has been hindered by the quick turnaround on the back of Thursday's trip home from Istanbul - but Rodgers insists the Reds will work as hard as possible to be fully prepared for the showpiece clash.

"The preparation for that, along with the coaches and our analysis team, has been done prior to the European game," he explained. "We spent time yesterday analysing and looking at that.

"We'll do some work with the players today; we've got our meetings this morning and later on this evening, then obviously a final one tomorrow. We do as much work as we can in order to prepare the players."

Victory over City would maintain Liverpool's charge towards a top-four finish this season and ensure the Reds remain the only unbeaten team in the league since the start of 2015.

Rodgers' side are currently five points behind Manchester United in fourth position - and the boss insists his charges will continue to heap pressure on the sides stationed above them in the standings.

"Immense credit to our players because they have shown they have been up for the fight," he said. "We have become better as the season has gone on and in the period between now and the end of the season, we're going to give everything to achieve our objectives. There are a number of teams involved in it and we're one of those."