Could Benteke's absence actually help Liverpool?

If you saw the second half of Liverpool's match against Norwich, you'll have realised that Ings and Sturridge appear to be a much fluid pairing compared to Benteke (I know, I know, it was only 45 minutes or so, but bear with me). Ings' movement was certainly something to watch, as he worked very hard to stretch Norwich's defenses, creating space and proving himself to be a nuisance.

Sturridge needs someone like that playing with him and at the moment, Benteke doesn't seem like the one to do it. To be fair, we haven't seen enough of  a Benteke-Sturridge partnership, but if Benteke had not been injured, the chances of us seeing an Ings + Sturridge partnership would have been even more remote. And with Liverpool struggling, that partnership will now get a chance to showcase itself.

Let's face it, Ings is desperate to prove himself, and with Benteke's injury, he is currently doing his best to show why he deserves to start more often. Unfortunately against Carlisle, he did not have a strike partner to work with,

The main problem with Benteke is clearly his price tag, which makes it very hard for Rodgers to drop him from the first 11. At the end of the day though, Benteke has had enough time to show his worth. Whether it's his fault, or due to Rodgers' failure to find a system that suits him, Benteke has yet to show any consistency. A change is needed, if at least to see whether a different set up will work better.

With Benteke injured for two weeks (based on news from The Guardian), we will get to see the Ings + Sturridge partnership for two matches: The home match against Villa, and the away match against Everton (no way will Sturridge be involved in the Europa match in between).

So that's a home match against relatively weaker opposition, and an away match against an in form tough opposition. What we see should give us a reasonable sample as to whether there is potential in persisting with the partnership. Let's see how Liverpool goes.

The two issues Liverpool will have to see whether this partnership will work are these:
1) No Jordan Henderson, the club captain.
2) The indifferent form of Firmino, Liverpool's other marquee signing.

If you think about it, a partnership of Ings and Sturridge with an in-form Coutinho and Firmino behind them could work out very well. With Firmino looking likely to be ready for the weekend, we should be able to see whether that pans out.