Right now, the two best clubs teams in Europe are Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. Yesterday, Bayern, on the road, put seven past a Roma side that by most accounts didn't even play all that badly. Today it's Liverpool's turn to take on one of the dominant forces in European football, and Jordan Henderson says the team is ready.
"It will be a tough game for us, we know that," began the midfielder, who is expected to start ahead of Steven Gerrard in midfield after a brief flirtation with a flipped approach against QPR led to underwhelming results. "But it's one we can go into and play with no fear and really show everybody how good a team we are. Everybody will be looking forward to it."
Liverpool will be underdogs, and their recent form isn't inspiring, but it's still a talented side, and the fact that the club's recent form has led to a lowering of expectations could free them up to turn the kind of performance that defined the 2013-14 season. In any case, and regardless of tonight's outcome, it's the sort of match Henderson believes they belong in.
"When you come to Liverpool, you realise how big a club it is," he said. "Liverpool should be playing against the best teams in the world and doing well against them. I think we've got the quality to do that. So when Real Madrid come to Anfield, we need to make sure we give everything. If we do that, then we'll have a good chance of getting a result."