He said: “Liverpool won the European Cup two years ago so we know it could go either way. I think we’ll have to be at our very best to make it through to the last eight.
“Liverpool’s incredible win in 2005 was amazing and an achievement we must be aware of. We have to learn from what happened to Milan. It would be a mistake not to consider Liverpool as one of the favourites to win this season’s Champions League.
“Not only have they already won it, they have a team capable of doing it again. But we are a force in this competition and have an obligation to show them our quality too.
“We know all about Liverpool. Steven Gerrard is a brilliant midfield player with a lot of force and Xabi Alonso complements him perfectly.
“They have a good passing range and we have to be very careful they don’t release their strikers too much. The likes of Dirk Kuyt and Peter Crouch are dangerous.
“The core of Liverpool’s side is of a very high standard. They can hurt us on the break so we must not neglect that threat. The hour of truth has arrived and we fully expect to reach the heights we are capable of reaching.
“Winning the first leg is important to us. We must make home advantage count because we are going to suffer at Anfield if we are not in front.
“I think we are good enough to win both legs. We have confidence in ourselves and believe we can repeat last season and end the year as Champions League winners again.”
