Italians Come To Anfield

Everybody loves Di Natale!...
Image: uefa.com

Liverpool welcome Italian side Udinese to Anfield tomorrow as they look to gain another win in their Europa League group. The Reds found there first league win in some style against Norwich at the weekend so here's hoping the goal fest rubs off.

Brendan is unable to call on Lucas or Kelly who are both out long term and there are also doubts hanging over Jose Enrique and Joe Cole. Udinese do not have any major injury worries but it is believed they will not start Di Natale and will opt to rest him instead or bring him on as a sub.

Liverpool have never met Udinese and whilst they have come across Italian opposition many times before this game may be a hard one to predict for Brendan Rodgers.

A positive for Liverpool is that Fabio Borini is experienced in Italy and may be able to shed some light on what to expect from Guidolin's side.

I can't say I am an expert on Udinese by any means but it does certainly appear from this season that they play to the stereotypical Italian way, i.e. they rely on their defensive strengths. They have drawn their last two games 0-0 and so appear to be pretty solid at the back.

Anfield however can have a massive effect on a side, shapes and systems can be ripped to pieces within seconds and if the lads play like they did against Norwich they will find a way through.

Stat Sandwich
  • Liverpool have won 8 of their last 23 games against Italian sides.
  • Udinese have only beaten an English side once - Tottenham Hotspur.
  • The Reds have won 3 of their last 4 matches in all competitions.

I've always been a fan of Italian football, some people slate it but I find all the controversy and the fans entertaining, people say it's boring but I feel Italian football has definitely evolved. If you follow me on Twitter you'll probably have noticed that I've recently started reading a book called "Calcio" it's basically a book including everything about the history of Italian football, I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in Italian teams.

So as you can imagine when I saw we had Udinese in our group I was looking forward to the two fixtures. Anfield will provide its own atmosphere but you can guarantee it will be just as lively at the Stadio Friuli.

For this one I'm going to go for a 2-1 win for Liverpool.

Enjoy the match folks!