Liverpool vs Udinese: European night at Anfield

At the onset of this match, Liverpool‘s aim will be to go top of Group A and spare themselves the hassles of qualification for the knockout stages. A few years back, this match could have been taking place in the UEFA Champions League and no one would have battered an eye lid. The current scenarios for both teams have now left them competing for the Europa League, which may not be as glamorous as it sounds, but nevertheless is a European trophy which can be won.

On the basis of current form, Liverpool are favourites to win the tie, having netted five goals over the weekend, while Udinese had to settle for another stalemate. Barring the Milan victory, goalscoring has been an issue for Udinese this term, and with Di Natale not expected to make the starting line-up, it remains to be seen where the goals will come from. In their previous encounters in Europe, Udinese had to settle for a draw against Anzhi Makhachkala, while Liverpool beat Young Boys despite a spirited fightback from the minnows.

For all their scoring problems, Liverpool have scored 13 goals in their last four matches, while Udinese in the same period have scored only three goals. The current Liverpool squad, after a thankless run of fixtures, are starting to settle down and play some really attractive football. While the average age of the squad has decreased, the inputs of the seniors have been responsible for such expansive football. Continuing in that vein, Liverpool will be again fielding a slew of youngsters in the form of Suso, Wisdom and Pacheco. Shelvey will be itching to get back on the field, and is currently the top scorer for Liverpool in Europe with two goals. It will be interesting to see how he performs, especially being in the middle of his three-game suspension due to the red card received against Manchester United.

Both teams lie in the bottom halves of their respective leagues, so they will be keen to make a statement, and given the quality of opposition, would want to nick a victory. With the early season jitters away now, its time for the teams to start focusing on claiming some kind of silverware and be consistent in the league. Time and again, the Europa League has been considered a distraction, but no team with pedigree would like to be knocked out in the group stages, after all, seldom do European nights, even if it’s the Europa League, pit two such attractive teams against each other.