Anfield test of character awaits PSV

A trip to Anfield does not seem the most obvious restorative for a PSV Eindhoven side still smarting from a heavy defeat on Matchday 1.

• After losing 3-0 at home to Club Atlético de Madrid – Sergio Agüero (9, 36) and Maniche (54) scoring for the Spanish team – PSV must now attempt to pick themselves up against opponents who eliminated them from the UEFA Champions League two seasons ago.

• Indeed, Liverpool got the better of PSV twice in 2006/07 – finishing ahead of them in the group stage and then defeating them in the quarter-finals – and they will not be lacking confidence for this latest encounter having opened their Group D campaign with a 2-1 victory at Olympique de Marseille.

• Steven Gerrard struck after 26 and 32 minutes – the latter effort from the penalty spot – as the Premier League side hit back following Lorik Cana's 23rd-minute opener. Now Liverpool, semi-finalists in the competition last season, will look to build on their winning start in Group D against the Dutch champions at Anfield.

• The two clubs had never met until the 2006/07 campaign, when they faced each other four times. In the group stage they played out a goalless draw in Eindhoven on Matchday 1 before Liverpool won the return match 2-0 on Matchday 5 through goals from Gerrard (65) and Peter Crouch (89) to secure first place in the section.

• The full lineups for that meeting at Anfield on 22 November 2006 were:
Liverpool: Pepe Reina, Steve Finnan, Daniel Agger, Jamie Carragher, John Arne Riise, Jermaine Pennant (Craig Bellamy), Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso (Boudewijn Zenden), Mark González, Peter Crouch, Dirk Kuyt.
PSV: Heurelho Gomes, Jan Kromkamp, Manuel Da Costa, Alex, Carlos Salcido, Edison Méndez (Roy Beerens), Timmy Simons, Csaba Fehér (Diego Tardelli), Ibrahim Afellay, Jefferson Farfán, Arouna Koné.

• Rafa Benítez's team then earned a comprehensive 4-0 aggregate victory in the quarter-finals. Gerrard (27), John Arne Riise (49) and Crouch (62) all found the net in a 3-0 first-leg triumph in the Netherlands on 3 April 2007 before Crouch struck the only goal of the return.

• It proved a night to forget for PSV defender Dirk Marcellis who received a red card on his tournament debut.

• The full lineups for that second leg at Anfield on 11 April 2007 were:
Liverpool: Pepe Reina, Álvaro Arbeloa, Sami Hyypiä, Daniel Agger (Gabriel Paletta), John Arne Riise, Jermaine Pennant, Xabi Alonso (Mark González), Mohamed Sissoko, Boudewijn Zenden, Craig Bellamy (Robbie Fowler), Peter Crouch.
PSV: Heurelho Gomes, Dirk Marcellis, Timmy Simons, Eric Addo, Carlos Salcido, Csaba Fehér, Phillip Cocu, Mika Väyrynen, Jason Culina, Jefferson Farfán (Patrick Kluivert), Arouna Koné (Rens van Eijden).

• Liverpool's only defeat against Dutch opposition came in their first ever meeting when they went down 5-1 at AFC Ajax in the 1966/67 European Champion Clubs' Cup second round. They are undefeated in nine subsequent games, however, and have a strong home record against Eredivisie teams with four wins and a draw from five matches.

• PSV won 1-0 at Tottenham Hotspur FC on their most recent visit to England for a UEFA Cup Round of 16 tie last season. Farfán scored the only goal at White Hart Lane but PSV lost the return leg 1-0 before scraping through 6-5 on penalties. Liverpool forward Robbie Keane appeared in both matches for Tottenham.

• PSV have considerable recent experience of English opposition given they also eliminated Arsenal FC from the UEFA Champions League in the 2006/07 season. They prevailed 2-1 on aggregate in the first knockout round, to set up their losing quarter-final against Liverpool.

• The Dutch club's overall record in England is P14 W4 D2 L8.

• Liverpool striker Fernando Torres scored past PSV goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson when Spain defeated Sweden 2-1 in Innsbruck in UEFA EURO 2008™ Group D.

• Isaksson will not have happy memories of his last match in England, when he conceded eight goals as his Manchester City FC side were humbled 8-1 by Middlesbrough FC last May.

• PSV full-back Jan Kromkamp spent the second half of 2005/06 with Liverpool after joining from Villarreal CF. He made 17 appearances, including the FA Cup final win against West Ham United FC, but, in the UEFA Champions League was an unused substitute for the 2006/07 third qualifying round games against Maccabi Haifa FC.

• PSV coach Huub Stevens has never won a match in England, be it on the field of play or in the dugout.

• As a PSV player he lost in UEFA Cup games at Wolverhampton Wanderers FC (1980/81), Nottingham Forest FC (1983/84) and Manchester United FC (1984/85), with PSV emerging aggregate winners only in the first of those ties.

• As a coach Stevens' FC Schalke 04 side lost 3-2 at Arsenal in the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League group stage, with a subsequent 3-1 home win against the Gunners not enough to save them from elimination. The next year he did enjoy some success with Hertha BSC Berlin against Fulham FC in the UEFA Cup third round, holding out for a goalless draw in London following a 2-1 home victory.

• Atlético take on Marseille in Madrid in the other Group D fixture on Matchday 2.