Why Liverpool Must Resist Temptation to Play Raheem Sterling vs. Bournemouth

Liverpool travel to the south coast to face AFC Bournemouth in the League Cup quarter-final on Wednesday evening, looking to bounce back from being knocked out of the Champions League and suffering a 3-0 defeat to Manchester United in the last week.

It won't be an easy task for Brendan Rodgers' side, who face a Bournemouth side fresh from a 5-3 win over Cardiff City, which took them to the top of the Championship table.

With the visit of Arsenal on Sunday, then the festive fixtures arriving thick and fast, Rodgers must select his side wisely; he can't afford defeat, but he must ensure he gets the right balance with so many fixtures in quick succession immediately after this.

That means, despite the temptation to do otherwise, Rodgers simply must rest Raheem Sterling.

The 20-year-old has consistently been Liverpool's biggest attacking threat in recent weeks, but he desperately needs to be rested and managed wisely.

Under the spotlight too for having missed several good opportunities in that defeat at Old Trafford, Sterling would benefit from being out of the firing line for one match.

Overuse

Sterling has started the last eight games for Liverpool, and the last time he didn't was away to Real Madrid when Rodgers rested his whole first team.

Jon Super/Associated Press

The last time Sterling didn't start a Premier League game was back in early September at home to Aston Villa, a 1-0 defeat.

Indeed, he's now made more appearances for Liverpool this season than any other player following Simon Mignolet's omission against United. A player who turned 20 just last week has been Liverpool's most used player—Sunday was his 100th appearance for the club.

Even before Mignolet was dropped, Sterling was Liverpool's most used outfield player by some distance, having played over 140 minutes more than any other player, as per Andrew Beasley:

"

#LFC Appearance data 2014/15. Hard to see when Sterling will get a rest, but he probably needs one... pic.twitter.com/rHt6V3W1Rh

— Andrew Beasley (@BassTunedToRed) December 6, 2014"

The only match this season that Sterling hasn't featured in for Liverpool was last time out in the League Cup, at home to Swansea.

Rodgers has overly used his prodigious talent, and overly relied upon him too.

What that means is that Sterling is desperately susceptible to overuse injuries and burnout, especially given how much his game relies upon his speed.

Replacement

With Arsenal arriving at Anfield on Sunday, Sterling needs to be rested and fresh for that challenge.

Jon Super/Associated Press

Sterling should be replaced against Bournemouth by bringing in Mario Balotelli, provided the Italian is fit to start (if not, then Rickie Lambert) and start Lazar Markovic in an attacking role to keep pace in the side.

Markovic has had two promising cameo appearances in the last week, against Basel and United, showing more in those brief substitute appearances than in all his previous appearances this campaign combined.

He did play one superb ball to Balotelli on Sunday which showed an excellent eye for a pass.

Of course, it will always be somewhat of a gamble not to play Sterling—Liverpool's most attacking threat in Daniel Sturridge's absence—but Rodgers must resist temptation and look with the longer term in mind than simply this game itself.