Liverpool hope for triumphant return

European football will remember its darkest day when the protagonists of the 1984/85 European Champion Clubs' Cup final, Liverpool FC and Juventus FC, meet for the first time in Turin since the Heysel tragedy of 20 years ago when 39 people lost their lives during crowd disturbances after a concrete wall fell inside the stadium trapping Juve supporters underneath.

Excluding Heysel, where Michel Platini scored the only goal of the game for Juventus from the penalty spot, Liverpool have registered one home win and two away defeats versus the Bianconeri. The sides faced off in the first round of the 1965/66 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup where a Gianfranco Leoncini goal gave the Turin club a narrow lead to take to Anfield. It was to prove insufficient as strikes from Liverpool's Chris Lawler and Geoff Strong gained a 2-1 aggregate triumph. The Reds advanced to the final only to lose 2-1 to BV Borussia Dortmund at Hampden Park.

Having defeated Roma in the 1983/84 European Cup final at Rome's Stadio Olimpico, Liverpool played UEFA Cup Winners' Cup winners Juventus in the UEFA Super Cup. The match was staged at Turin's Stadio Comunale on 16 January 1985, and goals in either half from Zbigniew Boniek gave the Italian team a 2-0 victory.

Given their regular Champions League involvement, Juve have faced Premiership opposition on six occasions in the last eight seasons. Their most recent engagements came in 2002/03 when the Bianconeri took on both Newcastle United FC and Manchester United FC. Juve beat Newcastle 2-0 at the Delle Alpi with Alessandro Del Piero scoring twice, but lost 1-0 at St James' Park.

Both clubs progressed to the second group phase where Newcastle exited, but Juventus advanced despite losing home and away to Manchester United. Juventus then qualified for the final by overcoming FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF in the knockout stages. However, they would lose the endgame on penalties to AC Milan at Old Trafford. In total, the Bianconeri have won eleven, drawn one and lost three matches at home to English rivals.

As a result of the violence at Heysel, English teams were banned from European club competition for five seasons, the ban extended by a further year for Liverpool. Following their suspension, the Reds have faced Italian opposition three times. They lost 4-1 on aggregate to Genoa 1893 in the quarter-finals of the 1991/92 UEFA Cup, Ian Rush scoring the Reds' goal. Since then, Liverpool have played AS Roma twice - and prevailed on both occasions. In the fourth round of the 2000/01 UEFA Cup, two Michael Owen goals earned a 2-0 victory in Rome. Though Roma won 1-0 at Anfield, Liverpool went through and eventually defeated Deportivo Alavés in the final.

The sides met again in the UEFA Champions League second group stage the following season, with a scoreless draw in Rome prefacing Liverpool's 2-0 home success on the final matchday. Goals from Jari Litmanen and Emile Heskey secured a result that propelled the English team above Roma in the rankings and into the knockout stages. There the Merseysiders lost 4-3 on aggregate to Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the quarter-finals. Overall, Liverpool have won two, drawn one and lost four of seven visits to Italy which include two finals.