Europa League, Liverpool vs Steaua Bucharest: Hodgson Eager to Impress
Liverpool put up a spirited display against Trabzonspor to beat the Turkish side 3-1 and qualify to the group stages of the Europa League. They are now set to take on Romanian side Steaua Bucharest at home to kick off the competition. Even though Liverpool
have suffered poor results in recent matches, they will be looking to turn things around on this European match night in front of the famous Anfield crowd.
These two sides have met on a previous occasion, in the 2003-2004 season when the Europa League was known as the UEFA Cup. Liverpool legend Harry Kewell scored the winner at home to give his side a 2-1 win in the fixture. Both sides will go into the match
with that fixture in mind, Liverpool hoping to repeat their success, while Steaua Bucharest will aim to make sure history is not repeated.
Despite having internal problems and unrest, Liverpool seems like a new side with English manager Roy Hodgson. He was appointed mainly because of his success with Fulham, who reached the final of the Europa League last season. Fans were doubtful about his
appointment, but Hodgson does bring a sense of stability with him and that is exactly what Liverpool need at the moment.
Upon his appointment, Hodgson convinced Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres to stay at Liverpool. Many would say that the retention of the Liverpool captain and star striker was better than any summer signing the English manager could have brought in. He
also worked towards finding replacements for departed players, Raul Meireles and Joe Cole for Mascherano and Aquilani respectively. He also purchased Paul Konchesky to fill up the left back position in defence, which had been a problem for the Merseyside club.
However, Hodgson is yet to prove himself on the pitch and despite claiming that the English Premier League was more important this season, he will be eager to impress the fans with a good start to the second tier European competition. But with so many players
rested for the Manchester United clash over the weekend, things could go horribly wrong. Hodgson told reporters, “It is up to me to try to choose a team which will win the game and possibly give some of the players who are needed to play against Manchester
United a well-deserved break.”
He added, “I will use games in Europa League and Carling Cup in order to try to get a better knowledge of he players to make certain, as time goes on, I have no doubts what our best XI is. Everyone in the country understands that to play the number of games
we and teams like ourselves have to play you have to change the team. What I don't really understand is how every time you change the team and they do not win the selection is criticized.”
Possible Starting XI
Liverpool: Jones, Kelly, Agger, Kyrgiakos, Konchesky, Maxi, Meireles, Poulsen, Jovanovic, Cole, Bable
Steaua Bucharest: Tatarusanu, Emeghara, Abrudan, Stoica, Radut, Tanase, Latovlevic, Geraldo, Surdu, Bicfalvi, Satncu
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