Jurgen Klopp has warned Liverpool that retaining the Champions League will be even harder than its incredible march to victory in Madrid last season.
Klopp’s side starts its bid to win a seventh European Cup with a trip to Napoli for their Group E opener on Tuesday.
Klopp believes Liverpool faces a daunting task to make it to the final in Istanbul’s Ataturk Stadium — a venue which carries extra resonance for the club after it won the 2005 Champions League with an astonishing comeback against AC Milan in the same stadium.
Sternest test
Napoli is expected to pose the sternest test to Liverpool in a group which also includes unfancied Salzburg and Genk.
Barcelona captain Lionel Messi will be part of the squad to face Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday as he prepares to make his comeback from injury.
Messi trained on Sunday and Monday after missing the first three La Liga matches of the season.
Striker Ansu Fati, 16, has also been included in the squad and may make his Champions League debut after two goals in three appearances.
Dortmund captain Marco Reus meanwhile insisted on Monday that his team could beat Barcelona regardless of whether Messi plays or not, but feared however that his team would ‘have to suffer’ when the two sides meet.
Reus suggested Dortmund could win if it plays to its own strengths instead of obsessing over the opponent.
“We have to concentrate on ourselves. We have a good team, we are at home, and we can win the game,” said Reus at a press conference on Monday. Former bench-warmer at Barcelona and current Dortmund sharpshooter Paco Alcacer is hoping to hurt his former club.
Belief and trust
Frank Lampard meanwhile said he “believed and trusted” in striker Tammy Abraham as he prepared to unleash his young players against Valencia in Chelsea’s opener on Tuesday.
Lampard will be facing a new manager in Albert Celades, who was appointed last week after the shock sacking of Marcelino.
Valencia’s players are understood to be unhappy with the decision but Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga warned they would still be dangerous.
Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger will miss the match after tweaking a groin while Lampard revealed N’Golo Kante and Callum Hudson-Odoi were not match fit.