Brendan’s Babes set for Liverpool team v Udinese: the Reds line up and opposition assessed
Liverpool welcome Serie A side Udinese to Anfield in the Europa League tonight, and though the Italians have lost key players like Alexis Sanchez and Kwadwo Asamoah to bigger clubs in recent seasons, they still have a few players capable of competing with the best, most notably veteran striker Antonio Di Natale. talkSPORT look at the key battles between the two sides...
Antonio Di Natale v Pepe Reina
Antonio Di Natale's movement and finishing are so good it's almost impossible for defenders to keep him quiet over 90 minutes, so Liverpool's keeper may need to rediscover his best form if the Reds want to shut him out. The 34-year-old striker has plenty of motivation too, saying he thinks it will be the last time he plays at Anfield before he retires, while he is also out to prove a point after a public spat with manager Francesco Guidolin. At his best, Reina is a fantastic shot stopper and difficult to beat in one-on-one situations, but few would say the Spaniard has been totally reliable for a year or two. Perhaps Liverpool will need to prevent the ball from getting to the Italian in the first place if they are to stop him from scoring.
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Roberto Pereyra v Liverpool's right-back
Udinese's young Argentinian winger/attacking midfielder can be brilliant when running at defenders. He possesses good dribbling ability, allied with a burst of pace, and his love of drifting in from the right flank to do damage means whoever Brendan Rodgers selects at right-back - he could give youngster Andre Wisdom another run-out - will need to be positionally disciplined considering Udinese's penchant for playing on the counter-attack. Pereyra starred in Udinese's 2-1 upset over AC Milan this season, so he isn't the type to be intimidated by sides with a strong pedigree.
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Danilo v Jonjo Shelvey
Brazilian defender Danilo helped ensure Udinese kept the third best defensive record in Serie A last season, with the Italians only letting in 35 goals in 38 games, so he's a hard man to get past. Danilo usually operates as a sweeper in the middle of a three man defence for his team, meaning he's likely to be the man tasked with stopping Jonjo Shelvey's bursts into danger areas. Known for his love of the physical side of the game, and sometimes compared to veteran defender Lucio, the centre-back won't shy away from going toe-to-toe with Liverpool in a battle, and can be dangerous if allowed to get further up the pitch too. He was rumoured to be a Liverpool target in the summer, so could an impressive performance against the Reds tonight see some movement between the two in January?
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talkSPORT verdict
Liverpool's possession football pitted against Udinese's counter-attacking style makes for an exciting clash on paper and, while the Italians can be somewhat unspectacular at times they still have plenty of quality in their team. If Di Natale isn't in the mood then Liverpool's chances of a win will be greatly increase; if the Reds can work the ball quickly and intelligently, they could cause them problems on the Italians' exposed flanks. If Liverpool's wide full-backs fail to track back and cover properly then they could be hurt on the break, however, so it should be an intriguing match.
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