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Romelu Lukaku has named a number of Liverpool players he sees as a major threat to Fenerbahce later, including one who offers something he has “rarely seen before”.
The former Manchester United and Chelsea striker will come up against the Reds later on Wednesday as Liverpool takes on Fenerbahce in the Champions League. The Turkish side is looking for its first win in the competition this season, with Reds hero Dirk Kuyt in temporary charge of the club.
The visitors, on the other hand, already have one foot in the knockout stages after winning their opening three games. Another three points in Istanbul would likely secure at least a play-off spot for Andoni Iraola’s side.
Liverpool could come up against a number of familiar faces later, including Lukaku, who made the move to Fenerbahce during the summer on a short-term deal from Napoli.
The Belgium international has scored just one goal in 14 appearances for the club, but he seemed to be more concerned about what he was coming up against when he spoke to the media ahead of today’s game.
"They're [Liverpool] probably going to have a lot of the ball with the quality players they have in midfield: [Alexis] Mac Allister, [Ryan] Gravenberch, [Dominik] Szoboszlai, [Florian] Wirtz," Lukaku told TNT Sports - Gravenberch will miss today’s game, having not traveled to Turkiye after picking up a heel injury.
"Offensively they are very good as well. I like Rio [Ngumoha], I like him a lot, very direct. I saw his game that he played against Arsenal.
"[Alexander] Isak obviously we know. Then adding [Bradley] Barcola in the team - he has a different pace, something I've rarely seen before."
Liverpool is one of only four teams still holding a perfect winning record in the Champions League this season, with the Reds aiming to go level on 12 points with defending champions Paris Saint-Germain.
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Iraola’s side has been in free-scoring form in Europe, with 12 goals from its games against Atletico Madrid, LASK and Villarreal, and Lukaku knows his side can’t afford any lapses in concentration.
"We've watched a lot of them," he added. "We watched the game against Arsenal with a lot of team-mates together.
"It's going to be a game where we have to be compact but try to do our best in those transition moments.
"There will be moments when we can hurt them, but we have to be locked in on the defensive side of the game."