The Champions League returns this week for the first games of the group stage. Liverpool, making their first appearance in the competition since 2009/10, face Bulgarian minnows and expected group whipping boys PFC Ludogorets Razgrad in their opening clash.

After a mixed start to their Premier League campaign, which has seen them win 2 and lose 2, Liverpool will be happy to assert early pressure on expected group winners Real Madrid by inflicting a heavy defeat on their Bulgarian opposition.

Liverpool fans will be buoyed, too, by Raheem Sterling's return to the starting line-up on Tuesday. The forward was surprisingly rested by Rodgers against during Liverpool's 0-1 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday evening, before coming on as a second-half substitute.

"We have an exciting couple of months and this was a game I felt we could do that," Rodgers said. "If he didn't have international football then it would have been the case.
He is a big player for us but we have built a squad here where I have to trust all the players but as a team and a squad we didn't deliver. He will certainly play on Tuesday night."

The Reds will be missing the likes of Daniel Sturridge, Emre Can (below), Joe Allen, John Flanagan and Glen Johnson for tomorrow evening's tie.

Ludogorets, meanwhile, are making club history, with a number of firsts for the Bulgarian team set to take place. Coming through three qualifying rounds which saw them fend off Luxembourg's F91 Dudelange, Serbia's FK Partizan and Romanian side Steaua Bucharest, the club have started their domestic campaign with 15 points from 8 games to lie in third place.

A brief comparison between the sides

In a remarkable story, they brought Romanian heavyweights Bucharest to a penalty shootout, only to see their goalkeeper sent off before the shootout began.

That left central defender Cosmin Moti (below) to pick up the gloves, score his own penalty as well as stopping two to seal a remarkable passage to Europe's elite club competition for the first time. The defender recalls:

“They didn’t know what I was going to do, because I didn’t know what I was going to do. The big pressure was on the players from Steaua who came to take their penalties because they were expected to score against me, But they didn’t know how I would be. They had no idea what I would do. You can study goalkeepers, they tend to go one side or the other but they didn’t know what I was going to do because I didn’t know either."

Bizarrely, it will be Ludogorets' third choice keeper that takes to the field tomorrow evening, due to suspension and injury to the other 2. However, coach Georgi Dermendzhiev is not too worried with this despite his opponent's firepower: "Argilashki is a quality keeper," said Dermendzhiev. "He was part of the team for three years now and we can rely on him." The coach later added:

"There is a saying in football that a team plays as much as the opposition allows them. Of course, if we need to play defensively we will but we will also use every chance to attack - we have our own attacking style and we plan to use it whenever we can."

Ludogorets captain Svetoslav Dyakov (below) hope that they can spring a surprise in the Group B opener. The 30-year-old midfielder said:

"Liverpool are a very strong side but they have some weak points and we should make the most of it. We need to minimise our mistakes because they can punish any mistake. We know that a draw wouldn't be a bad result because every point in the Champions League is precious but we'll be definitely searching for a win."

Prediction: Liverpool 3-0 Ludogorets Victory for the Reds should be a foregone conclusion, but don't be surprised if Ludogorets provide stiff opposition, determined to write yet another fairytale.

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About the author
Sean Tansley
Budding sports journalist and unbiased Liverpool fan.