The Spain international is confident that they can beat the Spanish giants.
Riera said: “Real Madrid are not at their best these days but they can turn their season around within three months and they are always very hard to beat.
“Winning such a confrontation is a massive boost for the rest of the Champions League. To my mind, Real Madrid must be more worried than us about the draw.
“It’s going to be an exciting knockout stage. Both games will be tough for each team, but I must say I’m quite optimistic.
“I’m not going to lie, all Spanish Liverpool players wanted to be drawn against them. And Italian teams play in a weirder system and always cause problems to English teams in European cups.
“Facing Madrid in the Champions League doesn’t mean having extra-motivation because it’s already emotion guaranteed when you play in such stadiums.
“The key for qualification will be the game at Anfield because our stadium is our main asset in the European scene and we have to make a difference there.”
