(H) Young Boys - Pre Match Thoughts

Europa League

Thursday 22nd November 2012

Anfield

Liverpool VS Young Boys

The last home game of the group and our best chance of sealing qualification. Before we've even kicked a ball at Anfield, it will be abundantly clear what's required of the team and with Anzhi currently beating a ten man Udinese with ten minutes to go, it appears that a win would assure our progress through to the next round. Anything else and it'll go down to the final group game in Italy and as we've seen so far, things get massively complicated when you have to travel away from home in Europe. The best for all concerned is to get it wrapped up tonight so that we can rest everyone ahead of the game in Italy.

Of all the players vying for a run in the side, there's a rather bizzare triangle that's formed. All three could possibly be leaving the club in January and the opinions of them could not be more diverse. Stewart Downing was an expensive failiure who through his sheer versatility appeared to have found a niche for himself at left back. His reprisal seems to have hit a brick wall however with reports saying he will almost certainly be moving on in the transfer window. Joe Cole is someone who has no way back. His place in the side is seen as a waste of a selection and we'd be much better off blooding someone from the academy. Then there's Jordan Henderson; the potential star I don't want to lose but whom the manager appears to have little faith in. Following on from his performance against Wigan, he has to put down another marker for himself tonight. A few more games like that could convince Brendan Rodgers to keep him, and that he is more than an expensive mistake from a bygone era.

Setting aside the dilemma of how many - if any - of the senior side we are willing to put out there and at the very least there are those all over the park, underneath the surface, desperate for their chance at making a name for themself. What Brendan Rodgers has been able to do thus far is give those in the academy enough of a boost by making them believe that if they apply themselves well enough in training and take their chances when handed to them, there is a path for them and they will be rewarded. This hasn't always been the case at Liverpool and will surely drive the likes of Jack Robinson, Connor Coady, Adam Morgan and anyone else that hasn't yet been given a chance like Ngoo.

With two difficult away games in the Premier League coming up, it's easy to see why Brendan Rodgers would leave out a lot of his senior squad. Not only are there players hungry to take their place that need games like this to boost their confidence (Suso, Coates, Shelvey and Sahin spring to mind) but we've seen the effect playing a strong side can have in losing heavily to Arsenal and having Glen Johnson miss out through injury. Certainly Joe Allen and Steven Gerrard could do with a break, the real question however would be over Luis Suarez. We know how lightweight and toothless we can appear without him and this is a game we realistically have to win. I'd be very tempted to play him, given the run of form he's in. At the very least I would have him on the bench but given our striking options and our priorities this year, it isn't a question that has an easy answer.

Having scored five against them at their ground, there's no doubt that we're capable of beating them. Beating Wigan at home so comfortably will have done a great deal to ease the fears that we're going to be as bad at home this season as we were last year. European nights at Anfield are more special than certain less than high profile league games because they are a spectacle in themselves. If we are to have any more of them at Anfield this year then we have to win.

(H) Udinese - Pre Match Thoughts

Europa League

Thursday 4th October 2012

Anfield

Liverpool VS Udinese

Whereas for some teams this competition may hold some feelings of trepidation or even apathy, there's a great deal of excitement surrounding any occasion where we'll have a chance to showcase the abundance of talent that there is right the way through the academy right now.  

As if there wasn't enough in the way of anticipation, tonight encounter will be against an Italian side with a lot to prove and a great deal of frustration that they need to get rid of.  Having been dumped out of the Champions League qualifying phases for the second year in a row, Udinese won't see this tournament as much of a consolation.  They do know however that on a stage like this at a venue like Anfield, they can show the world exactly what they're made out of.  

Having gone through a summer of renovation in which key players like Samir Handanovic, Mauricio Isla and Kwadwo Asamoah all moved on and those bought to replace them being unable as of yet to fill their roles, the season has not started well for the Bianconeri.  Like ourselves they have only managed one win so far in Serie A and sit fifteenth in the table.  Much like we were able to get back some kind of winning mentality with victories over Young Boys and West Brom, they will be looking to really kick-start their campaign with a morale boosting win here tonight.  On our part, we'll be well aware that a second three points will - even at this early stage of the group - make progression into the next phase that much simpler.

One of the things that makes the selection for tonight's team so interesting is that with so many players from this youth side that we've been fielding have come into the senior team and done well, a chance may now be given to even more brought in from the Academy.  Jon Flanagan, Ryan McLaughlin, Danny Wilson and even Michael Ngoo all have a shot at being a part of the squad if they aren't to make it directly into the starting eleven.  The anticipation who will be the next player to make the step up is all part of the fun.

With the quality of our opposition in both continental and domestic campaign reversed and Udinese being a far tougher challenge than Stoke on paper, there may be the temptation to bring some of our key players back into the squad.  Starting them may be a mistake but the likes of Joe Allen, Steven Gerrard or even Luis Suarez could easily find themselves on the bench tonight.  There are also those like Suso, Sterling and Wisdom, players that would in other circumstances be a shoe in to have a key role in this game but may now miss out for fear of burning them out.  Stewart Downing and Ousamma Assaidi will be looking to get a look in tonight as the first team is becoming rather settled and they will be looking for a performance good enough to force their way into the reckoning to start a Premier League game.  This may also be the perfect chance for Fabio Borini to get himself a bit more confidence.  I imagine if he plays at all he'll be leading the line and a couple of goals tonight would really do him good.

Two players will be available for selection tonight whose fortunes could not be any more diverse.  Jonjo Shelvey will come back into the team as he will sit out the last of his three game ban on Sunday and will be desperate to pick up from where he left off, having played so well against Young Boys and looking like the real deal.  Meanwhile Joe Cole has returned from obscurity once again with his injury having cleared up.  Whether he is fit enough to play or not I don't know but I do know for certain that he won't be risked against Stoke and so this represents his best chance of getting any kind of first team match practice and to integrate himself once more into the team.  It's been a rough time for Cole as of late but regardless of what anyone thinks about his ability these days, everything he's said and done - to the point of trying to play on at West Brom with a torn muscle - it's clear he wants to succeed at  Liverpool.  Here's hoping he has the chance.

Our Italian opponents tonight have in their weaponry one of the most prolific strikers of his nationality.  Antonio Di Natale is getting on a little at the age of thirty four but has still hit at least twenty league goals in each of his last three seasons, getting nearer to thirty on two occasions.  His predatory instincts are absolutely deadly and if he does play - I'm expecting something of a more shadow side from Udinese, Italian team rarely go all out with their line ups in this competition - then it will give the game an added dimension.  On top of all that, Di Natale is someone worth admiring for his off the field activities, having taken financial responsibility for the disabled sister of a team-mate that died earlier this year.  Genuinely heartfelt, I cannot respect this enough.

Any clash between two teams in one of Europe's big leagues is going to garner interest.  Regardless of what teams are actually put out and the level of superstars in them, this promises to be a fascinating encounter.  We've had a wild ride as of late with our youngsters and I've no doubt it's set to carry on in much the same way.  It's become less about the scoreline and more focused on the progression of their talent and cohesion between those in the team.  So long as we get that right then the results will come, as they have in recent weeks.  The feel good factor around Anfield is really high at the minute.  Long may it continue.