Liverpool will find out who they face in the Champions League playoff later this week, ahead of their quest for a sixth European Cup.
The Reds qualified for Europe’s most prestigious club competition last season, following a fourth-place Premier League finish.
Jurgen Klopp‘s side are not in the group stages just yet, however, with a two-legged playoff standing between them and a place in them.
The draw will be made live on BT Sport 3 from 11am (BST) on Friday, with Liverpool one of the seeded teams, along with Sevilla, Napoli and Sporting CP.
The first-leg of the playoffs will take place on August 15/16, with the return fixtures coming a week later, on August 22/23.
Liverpool’s possible opponents
> AEK Athens
> Club Brugge
> CSKA Moscow
> Hoffenheim
> Istanbul BB
> Nice
> Sporting Lisbon
> Steaua Bucharest
> Viktora Plzen
> Young Boys
Should the Reds get through their match – a number of third qualifying round matches have their second-legs taking place this week – all eyes will be on the draw for the group stages, which commences on August 24 at 5pm.
This is the first time Liverpool have been in the Champions League since 2014/15, and only the second time since 2009/10.
Their last outing was horribly forgettable, with Brendan Rodgers’ side winning just once in their six group games and crashing out before the knockout stages.
Confidence will be higher this time around, with Klopp’s men showing last season that they are capable of taking any team apart on their day.
Granted, they go into the competition as a relative outsider compared to some of Europe’s true heavyweights, but 2005 showed that anything is possible.
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