Liverpool will travel to Italy, Hungary and France in a tricky European Champions League Draw.
The reds were drawn in Group E and will face Olympique Lyonnais (Gerard Houllier’s former club), Fiorentina of Italy and Debrecen of Hungary who have been noted for some of their amazing goals in the qualifying round.
The reds have never faced any of the clubs in competitive football – and have only met Fiorentina twice before – both in friendly matches.
Olympique Lyonnais (France)
Until 2002, Lyon had never won a French title – but they then went on to win the Ligue 1 a record 7 consecutive times, although last season Bordeaux ended their winning streak.
Former Liverpool boss, Gerard Houllier went to manage the club during a couple of that title winning streak after he left Liverpool in the summer of 2005.
The club’s arch rivals are St Etienne, well known to Liverpool fans.
Fiorentina (Italy)
Fiorentina are one of Italy’s major clubs, spending the vast majority of their existence in Italy’s Serie A top division.
In July 2006 they were massively implicated in the Italian match-fixing scandal and were demoted to Serie B with a 12 point penalty. On appeal they were put back in to Serie A and handed a 15 point penalty. Despite this they even managed to land a UEFA Cup spot.
Fiorentina finished third in their group stage last season, and finished 4th in Serie A to send them on their way to this season’s competition.
Debrecen (Hungary)
The club’s stadium only has a capacity of 10,200 (1,000 of which are standing). The club was founded in 1902 but only began to find real success from 1999 onwards.
They were relegated in 2002, but managed to buy their way out of relegation by paying the club BKV Elore who were due to be promoted.
They have won the Hungarian title four times, all in the last five years and are reigning Hungarian champions. They are the first Hungarian side to reach the group stages for 14 years after beating Levski Sofia 4-1 in the qualifying round.
Full draw