Liverpool travel to Napoli for Wednesday’s Champions League clash with significant more quality available than on their previous visit eight years ago.
Roy Hodgson was in charge for the Reds’ only other trip to Stadio San Paolo, a goalless draw in the group stage of the Europa League in October 2010.
Here, Press Association Sport compares Hodgson’s team with Jurgen Klopp’s likely line-up.
Line-ups
Hodgson’s selection comprised Pepe Reina, Paul Konchesky, Jamie Carragher, Martin Skrtel, Martin Kelly, Jay Spearing, Christian Poulsen, Jonjo Shelvey, Ryan Babel, Milan Jovanovic and David N’Gog. Klopp is likely to choose Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, James Milner, Naby Keita, Jordan Henderson, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
Goals for Liverpool
Liverpool’s current attacking trio of Salah (47), Mane (37) and Firmino (53) have already comfortably outscored the whole of the 2010 side, with 137 goals compared to 73, while the 2018 side have hit 183 goals in total. Winger Babel (22) and striker N’Gog (19) managed the most Reds goals among the former players.
Cost
Goalkeeper Alisson (£67million), defender Van Dijk (£75m) and midfielder Keita (£53m) each cost more than the entire 2010 side. The total fee spent on Klopp’s expected starting XI is around £323m. Hodgson’s team, meanwhile, cost an estimated £45m, with around a third of that spent by his predecessor Rafael Benitez on Holland international Babel.
International caps
The 2010 team have a slight edge on international experience, with a combined total of 369 appearances for their countries. Slovakia defender Skrtel accounts for 99 of those caps, while midfielder Poulsen played 92 times for Denmark. English midfielder Spearing and Frenchman N’Gog are the only uncapped players across the two teams. The 2018 side have a total of 360 caps, albeit with the experience spread more evenly.
