Rio a doubt for Liverpool

Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that his reshuffled defence against Bolton was a pre-emptive experiment in case Rio Ferdinand misses Sunday's clash with Liverpool.

The England defender continues to carry a slight back injury and, with the Merseysiders' visit to Old Trafford looming large, Sir Alex opted to rest Patrice Evra and Wes Brown, fielding a defence of Owen Hargreaves, Nemanja Vidic, Gerard Pique and John O'Shea against Gary Megson's side.

"We made a lot of changes and I think that was necessary because, with Rio Ferdinand doubtful for Sunday, we had to find out about young Gerard Pique," Sir Alex told MUTV after the 2-0 win.

"We’ve got great confidence in the lad and he’s come through very well. That was important. We also wanted to rest Wes Brown in case Rio doesn’t make it, then we’ve got the alternative of playing Wes at centre-back – that’s a decision we’ll have to make.

"We tried Owen Hargreaves at right-back, and we can play John O’Shea there on Sunday and bring Patrice Evra in. It’s important to do these things tonight, simply because of Rio’s injury."