Everton defender Alan Stubbs has slammed Rafa Benitez's rotation policy at Liverpool.

"I do think (Manchester) United will win it and Arsenal will be the serious challengers this year," said Stubbs. "United are already right up there without having hit top form yet. Arsenal used to rely on Thierry Henry too much. Without him the onus is on the young players and they have been inspired by that.

"The thing about Liverpool is that I don't know if he (Benitez) has found his best team. I don't know if he has found the balance he's looking for. He keeps saying he will pick players who are looking good in training. I think sometimes you get training-ground players who don't do it in a game. And sometimes you get players who aren't good in training but are much better in a match situation.

"Benitez has done a good job since he arrived but a lot of Liverpool fans are getting disgruntled. They want to be challenging but have seen them getting draws at home to teams they think they should be beating because he has been resting players. I hope he picks the wrong team against us although for me, in Steven Gerrard they have the best midfielder in the world."