Europa League preview: Utrecht v Liverpool
For confirmation of the transitional period that Liverpool are in under Roy Hodgson, you need look no further than the Europa League.
The veteran boss has used a staggering 28 different players in his five European matches in charge so far, all the time gauging the strength of his squad as the Reds have beaten Rabotnicki, Trabzonspor and Steaua Bucharest – the first pair over two legs – to make Hodgson the first Liverpool manager to win all of his first five European matches. Not even the likes of Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley or Hodgson’s predecessor Rafael Benitez could manage that.
Granted, the opposition haven’t been the strongest, but the record can be something that the boss can be proud of as he battles mounting problems on and off the pitch, and there has been a sense that this competition has given the Hodgson and the Reds a welcome release from the daily pressures and struggles of the Premier League.
That much was evident in the 4-1 victory over Steaua Bucharest two weeks ago, a match which saw Joe Cole score his first Liverpool goal, David Ngog take his record to five strikes in four European starts and local youngsters Martin Kelly and Jay Spearing continue to improve their burgeoning reputations. Midfielder Spearing was man of the match, and earned the approval of the Kop for a vocal ear-bashing of his more senior team-mates when standards had slipped with the score at 1-1.
Whether or not he’ll face Utrecht remains to be seen, but he is in a strong squad that includes Fernando Torres, Cole and Raul Meireles, but not Steven Gerrard. To one man who will be there, this match means more than most.
“It means a lot to go back,” said Dirk Kuyt, who returns to his first professional club tonight having played at the Stadion Galgenwaard between 1998 and 2003, scoring 66 goals in 184 games.
“They are the club that gave me the opportunity to play professional football. I had five years there and really enjoyed it. I was really happy for the opportunity they gave me. I don't know a lot of players there now. There are just two or three that still play for the team, but I also know a few guys who work at the club so it'll be nice to go back and see them.”
A shoulder injury sustained on international duty had threatened to ruin this homecoming for Kuyt, but typically he recovered quickly, and scored Liverpool’s opener in the weekend draw with Sunderland. As well as being a quick healer, he’s always been a model professional too, and so isn’t letting the emotion of the occasion affect his will to win.
“We want to get a result,” he said. “If we beat Utrecht in Utrecht, it will be great because we would have six points in the group already and we would almost be in the next round.
“We work every day with this team and know we have the quality. It's just a matter of time until we get results.”
If one of those results is to come here then Kuyt and his teammates will have to overcome a Utrecht side who battled back from a two-goal first leg deficit to beat Celtic earlier in the competition, and also drew at Napoli in their opening Group K game.
Ricky van Wolfswinkel proved that he’s more than just a funny name with a hat-trick against Celtic – three of his 13 goals so far this season – and the 21-year-old forward’s name has been in rumoured to be on the shopping lists of many a club around Europe, Liverpool included, while goalkeeper Michel Vorm was part of the Netherlands squad at the summer’s World Cup, and skipper Michael Silberbauer is a Danish international.
Utrecht’s league record so far this season suggests what Liverpool may be in for tonight: they’ve won all three of their home games but lost all four away.
A potentially tough task for the Reds then, but with Hodgson ready to name a stronger side than the experimental XIs he’s put out in this competition so far, expect the Europa League feelgood factor to continue at Liverpool.
Their only hope must be that a happy homecoming for Kuyt leads to better results when he and they return to these shores.
Prediction: Utrecht 1 Liverpool 2
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