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Udinese out to undermine Liverpool bid

Liverpool FC will be hoping they do not befall the same fate as eliminated opponents Udinese Calcio and can beat the Italian club to clinch a place in the round of 32 of the UEFA Europa League.

Liverpool's UEFA Europa League destiny is in their hands
Liverpool's UEFA Europa League destiny is in their hands ©Getty Images

Udinese Calcio are out, but can take Liverpool FC down with them in their final Group A game, with the Reds seeking to deny BSC Young Boys a UEFA Europa League round of 32 slot.

Group A permutations
Anji are through as even if they are caught by both Liverpool and Young Boys, the Russian side would finish second behind the Reds in a three-way head-to-head.

Liverpool are second on head-to-head record ahead of Young Boys and will qualify with a win. A draw would also take them through provided Young Boys do not win. Liverpool would be out with a defeat, even if Young Boys lose, as YB would be top of a three-way head-to-head involving the Reds and Udinese.

Young Boys will be through if they pick up more points than Liverpool. They will also qualify if both they and Liverpool lose as YB will be top of a three-way head-to-head involving the Reds and Udinese.

Udinese are out.

Previous meetings
• Udinese won 3-2 at Anfield when the sides met for the first time on matchday two. Antonio Di Natale's strike, an own goal by Sebastián Coates and a superb effort from Giovanni Pasquale were enough to trump Jonjo Shelvey's early opener and a sublime Luis Suárez free-kick.

• Liverpool's 24 European games against Italian teams have ended W8 D5 L11. Those matches include five UEFA club competition finals (W0 D2 L3, though the draws – 1-1 against AS Roma in the 1984 European Champion Clubs' Cup final, and 3-3 against AC Milan in the 2005 UEFA Champions League final – prompted Liverpool wins on penalties).

• The 1984 win against Roma came in the Italian capital, designated neutral host of the final, while the 2-0 UEFA Super Cup defeat by Juventus in 1985 occurred in Turin.

• Those finals aside, Liverpool's record on Italian soil reads W2 D3 L4. At home, their record is W6 D0 L4.

• Udinese's four fixtures against English sides ended W2 D0 L2 (W1 D0 L1 at home – W1 D0 L1 in England). They beat Tottenham Hotspur FC in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup group stage, but lost 1-0 in London and 2-1 in Udine to Arsenal FC in the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League play-offs.

Match background
• Udinese have missed out on the knockout stage for the first time in their four UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns.

• Udinese are on an unprecedented three-game losing streak in Group A: they had never lost more than two games in a row in Europe prior to matchday five.

• A 1-0 loss at Anji on matchday three ended a three-game winning streak on the road for Liverpool.

Team facts
• Udinese goalkeeper Daniele Padelli played for Liverpool in 2007 on loan from UC Sampdoria, making his only appearance for the club in a 2-2 draw at home against Charlton Athletic FC on 13 May that year – the final game of the season, remembered as Robbie Fowler's last for the Reds.

• Current Liverpool players Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger and Steven Gerrard were among Padelli's team-mates that day.

• Liverpool boast Italian talent in the form of forward Fabio Borini. Once a trainee at Bologna FC, he joined Chelsea FC as a teenager. He played in Serie A for the first time last season, with AS Roma, then became Brendan Rodgers' first signing as Liverpool manager this summer.

• Udinese coach Francesco Guidolin was once an Italy Under-21 midfielder, and has played for – and coached – a large number of Italian teams. He took charge of Udinese for the second time in 2010, matching a club-best third-placed finish in Serie A in 2011/12. He briefly coached outside Italy with AS Monaco FC in 2005/06.

• Rodgers replaced Kenny Dalglish as Liverpool manager at the end of the 2011/12 season, having won promotion to the Premier League with Swansea City AFC and led the Welsh club to a comfortable mid-table finish in their first campaign back in the top flight. Born in Northern Ireland, he had to end his playing career at 20 due to a knee condition, but made his name as a coach with Watford FC and Reading FC. He is coaching in Europe for the first time this term.

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