PSV Eindhoven will be looking for a change of fortune when they visit Liverpool for the third time in three seasons.
The Dutch champions lost twice at Anfield in the 2006-07 campaign, succumbing 2-0 in the group stage and 1-0 in the quarter-finals, they will have something of a point to prove.
Liverpool kicked off Group D with an impressive 2-1 victory at Marseille, but their manager Rafael Benítez is still wary of the threat posed by the visitors.
“It will be dangerous for us, but right now I don’t think they [PSV] have confidence, or at least that is the report that we have,” Benítez said. “I have a lot of respect for them because they are always at the top of the Dutch league.”
Midfielders Javier Mascherano and Yossi Benayoun missed the 2-0 victory over Everton on Saturday through injury, though both are fit again, unlike full-back Philipp Degen who is nursing two broken ribs.
“When you are playing well and you are winning games and everyone is talking about how good you are, it’s important to calm down and keep people thinking about the next game,” Benítez said. “We know it’s a risk when a lot of people are speaking highly about your team, so we will try to keep everyone concentrating on this game.”
PSV coach, Huub Stevens, who will be without Dutch midfielder Ibrahim Afellay, is wary of the threat posed by Liverpool.
Stevens, who was not in charge when PSV last met Liverpool, said: “All of the English clubs are very strong, we know that, and Liverpool are also strong. We are going to make sure we play football the way we want to play.
“We lost the first match [against Atlético] 3-0 and we are going to have to take good lessons from it and learn from our mistakes, but it’s not just that one game – you learn from every match.”
