Liverpool discovered their opponents in the Champions League last night, after a five year absence from the competition. The Reds, who have famously won the European Cup five times, enjoyed a wonderful spell of consistent European football under Rafael Benitez, until the disappointing 2009-10 season. They have since failed to even qualify for the Qualifying Stage, having to settle for the Europa League as a second best, but now - after last season's phenomenal campaign, the Reds are back in the big time. How will they get on under Brendan Rodgers?
Group Opposition:
Real Madrid:
Pot A was never going to be too kind to Liverpool, with the likes of Bayern Munich, Barcelona and the reigning champions Real Madrid all residing there. As it happens, it was Carlo Ancelotti's men who were picked out, and the 10-times winners certainly represent one of the toughest challenges possible to the Reds. They will be the favourites to comfortably progress from Group B, and rightly so. Under Ancelotti, they won 'La Decima' last season in spectacular fashion. They dropped just two points in the group stage, beating Galatasaray and Copenhagen twice, whilst taking four of six points against Juventus. After a 9-2 aggregate thrashing of Schalke in the Round of 16, they matched up against Borussia Dortmund, the same side who had embarrassed them in the Semis the year before, and they scraped through 3-2 overall despite winning the first leg 3-0. A resounding 4-0 second-leg away win at Bayern Munich helped them go through 5-0 and reach the final, where they would meet their inter-city rivals Atletico Madrid. After an intense encounter, which saw them score a 93rd minute equaliser courtesy of Sergio Ramos to force extra-time, they defeated the La Liga champions 4-1 to lift the trophy for the first time since 2001-02. All in all, last season they were simply terrific in Europe and their summer additions suggest they may only get better. Whilst they have seen the back of previous first-teamers Xabi Alonso, Diego Lopes and Angel Di Maria, they have spent big on the likes of James Rodriguez and Keylor Navas, two of the summer's biggest World Cup stars, and have also acquired midfielder Toni Kroos and could potentially yet add Falcao to their ranks. Clearly, their attacking firepower will most certainly be Real's strong point, as they look to take advantage of Liverpool's inconsistent defence. Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo's pace and shooting ability from the flanks will certainly pose a number of problems, but James Rodriguez' creativity and flair in the middle will be equally as dangerous and there are a number of other lethal attackers available to Ancelotti, even off of the bench. Madrid have never previously scored against the Reds, nevermind won against them but regardless of the fact that Liverpool crushed Los Blancos 4-0 they last time the two teams met and beat them at the Bernabeu 1-0 in the leg prior, the Spanish giants have only got stronger since then and will be amongst the favourites to win the competition again. Liverpool should look out for their strength up front, but also the quality and creativity of their midfield. Luka Modric in particular, always seemed to enjoy playing against the Reds when he was back at Spurs and will be one to look out for - particularly if they expose Steven Gerrard's lack of mobility and speed in the centre. How will Brendan Rodgers stop them? Nobody quite knows, but Spanish right-backs Javier Manquillo and Alberto Moreno may come in handy in helping quell their threat from the flanks, as they have experienced against facing the Bale, Ronaldo and co. before. Liverpool, meanwhile, with the likes of Daniel Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho, Mario Balotelli and Raheem Sterling also of course have the attacking potential of their own to trouble Madrid's defence, which while inevitably strong, has it's weaknesses. Results will be difficult to attain against them, but one thing's for sure - the atmosphere at Anfield on the late evening of Wednesday 22nd of October will be near deafening, and the feeling of those famous European nights can just about conjure up anything.
Ludogorets Razgrad:
One of the lesser known sides in the competition, Bulgaria's Ludogorets Razgrad have existed merely 13 years, but have risen to success rapidly in the past few years. They will be Liverpool's first opponents in the Champions League since Fiorentina knocked the Meryseyside club out in the Groups back in 2009, and they will be well up for the occasion. They qualified by the skin of their teeth, but it was in spectacularfashion. With minutes to go of normal time, their hopes looked down and out as they trailed 1-0 Steaua Bucharest from the first leg. However, with moments left, substitute Wanderson's spectacular distance volley levelled the scores in the last minute. The aggregate score continued 1-1 into the late minutes of extra-time, when Ludogorets keeper Vladislav Stoyanov earned himself a red card, forcing defender Cosmin Moti to cover for him. The game went into a penalty shoot-out and magnificiently, Moti saved two of Steaua's penalties to see the Bulgarians through into the Groups for the first time in their history. Despite their short time as an established club, they have achieved considerable success. The finance of businessman Kiril Domuschiev helped fuel Ludogorets' promotion from Group B to Group A for the first time ever in 2010-11, and spectacularly, in 2011-12 they became the first ever side to win the Bulgarian treble in their first Group A campaign. Ludogorets became only the third Bulgarian team, after CSKA Sofia and Levski Sofia, to achieve a treble by winning the league, the Bulgarian Cup and the Bulgarian Supercup. Subsequently, the club also made a significant impact in the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League, where they reached the round of 16. Now, they have won Group A for three successive seasons whilst also lifting the Bulgarian Cup for the last two seasons and winning or being runners-up in the Bulgarian Super Cup for the last three seasons. Their lack of experience may prove to count against them, but they will be keen to make their mark so don't rule them out just yet. They beat Lazio before falling to Valencia in the Europa League Last 16 last season, and also beat the likes of Dinamo Zagreb, PSV Eindhoven and FK Partizan in the last year, so they will be by no means 'the whipping boys.' Realistically though, Liverpool should look to take all six points from the two encounters - particularly given the first meeting is at Anfield and will have an electric atmosphere, meanwhilst the Reds should have the quality and squad depth to overcome the Bulgarians.
FC Basel:
Slightly more esteemed European opposition, Basel are by no means to be underestimated. They are one of the most successful clubs in Swiss football, having won the Swiss Super League 17 times, including in 2013-14 and the previous four successive seasons before that. They will be going into this season under the guidance of a new manager, after Murat Yakin left for Spartak Moscow. Paulo Sousa, who previously led Swansea City, Leicester and QPR, has taken over and has a number of talented players at his disposal. Basel, though seemingly a good opposing team to draw from Pot 2, have impressed on the European stage in recent years and will look to do the same against Liverpool. Last season, they managed to do the double over Chelsea, thanks to the contributions of now Chelsea player Mohammed Salah, but failed to progress from the group due to other disappointing results. Yet, they looked a very dangerous team and managed to reach the Quarter Finals of the Europa League until Valencia miraculously turned over a 3-0 deficit with a 5-0 home win in the second leg. In years before that, they managed four points from six in the Groups against Manchester United, an impressive 1-0 win a home to Bayern before a collapse saw them lose 7-0 in the second leg and also managed the Semi Finals of the 2012-13 Europa League. Their best Champions League finish remains the Round of 16, but their recent matching of domestic success into European success means they are more than capable of bettering that feat this time around. The Reds were knocked out of the Champions League group stage by the Swiss side in 2002, and so hopefully Brendan Rodgers can avoid a repeat of that in December. Away from home, Basel could certainly pick up some points - just as they have done against English sides in recent years, but due to the loss of key men since then, the Reds should dispose of them at Anfield. Still, the Swiss side will be a stern test of the club's credentials.
Fixtures:
September 16 - Ludogorets Razgrad (H)
October 1 - FC Basel (A)
October 22 - Real Madrid (H)
November 4 - Real Madrid (A)
November 26 - Ludogorets Razgrad (A)
December 9 - FC Basel (H)
Prediction:
Liverpool should qualify from their group, but even so it's hard to see them taking too much from the games against Real Madrid. FC Basel certainly have the capability to cause a surprise and Ludogorets are an unknown entity, but the Reds should have enough strength to overcome both teams. If they can take six points from the opening two games against those two, it will put them in good stead for the double header versus Madrid, before they face Ludogorets and Basel again. Realistically, Liverpool should finish second, aiming to take a minimum of 10 points in order to do so - but then nothing is guaranteed.