Report: Pressure mounts on Brendan Rodgers as surprise Italian flies in for talks with Liverpool

Brendan Rodgers needs to win on Saturday.

The Liverpool boss has been coming under serious scrutiny this season and, as results continue to underwhelm, his future at Anfield has looked more and more uncertain. Talk this week has been of Jurgen Klopp replacing the Northern Irish man in the hotseat. Even Carlo Ancelotti's name has been bandied about. But it seems that the Liverpool board could be moving in an entirely different direction if reports from Italy are to be believed. Walter Mazzarri could be the chosen one. The former Inter boss is reported to have flown into Liverpool this afternoon (Friday) to meet with the club about taking over. Italia 24 News are claiming that Mazzarri has become a front runner to replace Brendan Rodgers and that he took a flight from Pisa (the 10:10 with Ryanair to be precise) on Friday morning to arrive on Merseyside for talks with the Reds' hierarchy. And they've even run with a picture believed to be Walter waiting in the departure lounge. Mazzarri's CV comprises solely of Italian clubs, seven to be exact. Most recently, he took charge of Sampdoria, Napoli and Inter in Serie A, guiding Napoli to Coppa Italia success in 2012 - his only major trophy of his career to date. Mazzarri has lasted just one season at three of the seven clubs he has managed so far, staying with Inter for just over a season before he was ousted last year in place of Roberto Mancini. It piles more pressure on Brendan Rodgers who entertains Aston Villa at Anfield on Saturday afternoon.