Rodgers relishing Stoke date

Published Sep. 29, 2011 3:15 p.m. ET

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Tony Pulis' Potters have been pigeon-holed as a direct, physical team during their time in the Premier League, while Swansea have won plenty of plaudits for their attractive passing style of play. The visitors' approach will prove a very different prospect than that faced by the Swans at Chelsea last weekend, but Rodgers is looking forward to seeing how his players respond to the challenge as they seek to maintain their unbeaten home record at the Liberty Stadium. He said: "They are a very, very difficult team to play against. You have to combat their game but try and play your own game. "We know what the job is going to be, but we are really looking forward to it. "It's a fascinating game between two styles of play and two identities, and both sets of players want to win the game. "There are areas where you need that physical element to your game but I am not crying if we don't have it all over the pitch. "We are realistic enough to understand that against some teams it will be difficult as they might have that physical edge, so we have to be unique and different and that's how we play and try to go about it." Stoke have had plenty of critics for their approach to the game, with Sir Alex Ferguson becoming the latest following Manchester United's 1-1 draw at the Britannia Stadium last weekend, but Rodgers disagrees with those who are content to throw scorn on how Pulis' side play. "They get some bad press in terms of how they play but there is no right or wrong way to play football," he said. "Our identity is totally different to Stoke's, but it's our own way and they have shown they have very hard working players with an outstanding manager. "Their template is based on good organisation and they play to those strengths and it's up to us to try and utilise our game and impose ourselves on Stoke. "People forget they have some really talented players. I have worked with Robert Huth, he is strong and aggressive but he can play. "Ryan Shawcross was at Manchester United so he knows how to play but he is committed. Glenn Whelan is honest in midfield but can play, Matthew Etherington is a terrific player and has a style to his game that is effective. "They have Jermaine Pennant, Peter Crouch is a good footballer and Jon Walters too. They have this attachment with their style but as they have grown and evolved into the league they play some good football." Rodgers will again only have Garry Monk and Ashley Williams available in the centre of defence, while midfielder Leon Britton is an injury doubt due to the back problem which saw him substituted at half-time in the 4-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge. Rodgers has looked to bolster his defensive options but revealed that trialist Zoltan Liptak will not join the club after playing in the reserves' 5-3 defeat against Newcastle, although he will continue to monitor former Bologna centre-back Vangelis Moras, who also featured in the loss.