Roy Hodgson to give Liverpool fringe men chance to impress
Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson is set to give men on the fringes of the first team, including Ryan Babel, Danny Wilson and Milan Jovanovic, the chance to prove their worth when the Reds take on Napoli in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday, 21 October.
Several established first-team players, including star men Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, have not been included for the squad for the trip to Italy. Glen Johnson and Daniel Agger have also been left out, and Hodgson suggested that the men who will
play against the Serie A side could force their way into the team for the home match against Blackburn Rovers on Sunday.
"It'll be a chance for at least four or five players that haven't played so much this year to show me that they should be in the team or that I should be taking them seriously."
Despite the club’s poor showing so far in the English Premier League campaign (they are 19th with just six points from eight matches), Liverpool has yet to be beaten in European competition. But Hodgson is aware that the record could come to an end if his
side does not play at their best against Napoli.
"They are good. I spoke to (Roma boss) Claudio Ranieri at an elite trainer conference in Nyon not so long back and asked him about the Italian league and where the major threat to so called big clubs come from. He cited Napoli. Apparently, they have a new
owner, the son of the famous film producer, De Laurentiis."
"A lot of money has been put into the club, they've invested in some big-name South American players. They are taking it very seriously. They are fourth in the league. Whatever team we play will have a tough game. We've got great respect for them. We've
scouted them, we've been to see them play twice and done our video analysis."
Tags: