After finishing second in one of the toughest groups of this year's Champions League, FC Barcelona take on Liverpool on Wednesday evening (19:45 GMT) in the first leg of the tie of the round in Camp Nou.

Having earnt 11 points in the group stages, Frank Rijkaard's side face a tough challenge against the team whom the title was transferred from and presented to Barcelona last season in Paris. Liverpool have a very impressive record in the competition, winning the cup a total of 5 times, and always show promise in the knockout stages. Barcelona are the current holders of the cup, after beating Arsenal 2-1 in the final last May. The clash between the successive champions promises to be an entertaining fixture.

Both teams in similar situations
Both teams come into the game off 2-1 away defeats; Barcelona lost to Valencia over the weekend, and Liverpool lost to Newcastle 10 days ago. Each team has also had their share of off-the-pitch incidents in the past 8 days. Samuel Eto'o allegedly refused to come on as a substitute for Barcelona in the victory against Racing on 12th February, and consequently conversations took place between players and coaching staff through the media. The confusion has since been cleared up, and there are no hard feelings between the parties involved. Meanwhile, in neighbouring country Portugal, there was a reported bust-up between Liverpool team 'mates' Craig Bellamy and John Arne Riise, a story which stole the headlines of the back pages of Britain's newspapers. A source close to the club revealed that Bellamy attacked Riise with a golf club on a holiday the team took to Portugal. Liverpool coach Rafa Benítez has since called an emergency meeting with the team, and warned the players he will not tolerate any breach of club rules. Bellamy reportedly faces a €120,000 fine for the incident.

Eto'o and Edmilson out, but Messi and Thuram named in squad
Samuel Eto'o has been left out of the squad to face Liverpool, although no details have been revealed as to the reason for the striker's omission from the squad list. Eto'o was also left out of the squad which lost to Valencia on Saturday at his own request, citing the fact he needed more time to improve his fitness as the reason for his absence. Eto'o scored the equalising goal in last year's final, and has scored a total of 11 goals for the Blaugrana in the Champions League in the past 3 seasons, so his presence will be greatly missed. Brazilian midfielder Edmílson will also be watching the game from the stands.

Hoping for a return to Champions League football is the young Argentinian Leo Messi, who will probably start against Liverpool. Messi broke a bone in his foot in mid-November, but has been involved in the last 2 La Liga matches Barcelona played. Messi's last goal in the Champions League was an 89th minute equaliser away to Werder Bremen in the group stages, which proved to be the deciding factor between Barcelona qualifying and finishing 3rd.

Lilian Thuram returns to the squad after spending several games recovering from injuries. The France international's experience will be vital in the game against Liverpool.

Benítez has good record at Camp Nou
Benítez has come up against Barcelona at Camp Nou three times before, during his time as Valencia coach. The Spaniard won twice and drew once, although Barcelona will be hoping it will be a different story on Wednesday. Benítez has often been cited as bringing a more Spanish style of play to the English club, which may be good thing for Rijkaard's Barcelona, since it is a style they are used to playing against.

Previous encounters
Liverpool have travelled to Camp Nou three times to face Barcelona, with the last two encounters finishing 0-0, and the first finishing 0-1. Liverpool will look to make it a fourth successive clean sheet in Barcelona on Wednesday, although Rijkaard and his players will have other ideas. Carles Puyol, Javier Saviola and Thiago Motta are the only current Barcelona players to have played in at least one of those matches, and will be looking, along with their teammates, to turn the statistics on their head.

According to the bookies, Barcelona are the clear favourites going into the tie, but on the night anything can happen. Rijkaard will be hoping to take a victory to Anfield for the return leg, while Benítez will probably settle for a draw

Squads
Barcelona: Valdés, Jorquera, Belletti, Oleguer, Puyol, Thuram, Márquez, Gio, Zambrotta, Motta, Xavi, Deco, Iniesta, Gudjohnsen, Saviola, Ronaldinho, Messi and Giuly.