Brendan Rodgers has insisted that the Europa League remains an important competition for the club, despite naming a seemingly weakened team ahead of tonight's round-of-32 clash against Besiktas.

The Reds lead the Turkish outfit 1-0 courtesy of Mario Balotelli's late penalty in the first leg at Anfield last week.

Philippe Coutinho and vice-captain Jordan Henderson have both been omitted from the travelling party for the return tie, while Steven Gerrard, Lucas Leiva and Lazar Markovic also miss out due to injury and suspension.

However, Rodgers believes that it is important Liverpool progress against Besiktas in order to maintain their impressive recent form heading into the final third of the campaign.

"It is still a European competition. I'd rather be in it than not in it - that's the reality of it," he is quoted as saying by ESPN. "We are playing a lot of games this season because we've had a successful couple of years. We are doing well, we are in a couple of cups and if we want to maintain that and work well for the coming years we have to get used to a lot of games.

"It is unfortunate but we will do our best. We're winning games and the confidence is high. The players have had lots of challenges to overcome this season and we are ready to keep performing. It's the way it's been dealt and we'll deal with it the best we can."

Liverpool have lost just one of their last 10 games in all competitions.