Liverpool and Napoli are set to face each other for the seventh time and manager Luciano Spalletti is ready to face the Reds for the third time in his career.
Speaking with the media ahead of the opening Champions League group stage match (via Napoli’s club website), the 63-year-old was asked about facing Jurgen Klopp: “It’s an honour to be on opposite sides to Klopp.
“There’s nobody quite like him and his playing philosophy sets his team apart in world football. I’ll try to read what he’s trying to ask of his team”.
It’s great to see the respect that is clearly in place between both managers and that the Italian is looking forward to sharing a touchline with our boss for the first time.
The former Roma coach has first-hand experience with both Mo Salah and Alisson Becker, as well as managing a team against us – when he was in charge of Zenit Saint Petersburg in the Europa League in 2013.
That last meeting saw us dumped out of Europe and, although this isn’t at stake in the opening match of this year’s competition, we will be hoping for a better outcome this time out.
Following his shoulder fracture, the Italian will be wearing a sling for the game but let’s hope not the last bit of pain inflicted on him – as we aim to secure a healthy victory in the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
#Ep58 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: Rating Liverpool’s UCL group, making a new signing… & more!