Tough task for Liverpool
Friday, December 13, 2002
Article summary
The 2001 winners Liverpool FC were paired with AJ Auxerre in the UEFA Cup fourth round.
Article body
The 2001 winners Liverpool FC were paired with AJ Auxerre in today's draw for the fourth round of the UEFA Cup while each learned their potential quarter-final opponents when the draw for both rounds of the knockout competition took place at UEFA headquarters in Switzerland.
Owen goals
A pair of Michael Owen goals saw Liverpool win both legs of their third-round tie against SBV Vitesse 1-0 and their reward is a two-legged encounter against Auxerre, who beat Liverpool's English Premiership rivals Arsenal FC in the UEFA Champions League first group stage.
Eyeing another scalp
Only S.S. Lazio have a better co-efficient than the English side of the remaining 16 clubs in the competition and the Roman club will be out to improve their standing by accounting for Wisla Kraków. Wisla have already beaten Parma AC in round two and are eyeing another scalp after seeing off FC Schalke 04, winners of the competition as recently as 1997, on Tuesday.
Greek challengers
Another former winner, the 1983 champions RSC Anderlecht, face Panathinaikos FC. The Greens' great rivals, AEK Athens FC, were pitted against Málaga CF after the sole remaining Spanish challenger defeated Leeds United AFC in the previous round. Another team who defied the odds to progress, the conquerors of Olympique Lyonnais Denizlispor, will tackle FC Porto, while their Turkish Super League rivals Besiktas JK will vie for a place in the last eight with Czech challengers SK Slavia Praha.
Notable performances
Two sides who performed notably in the previous round, Hertha BSC Berlin and Boavista FC, respectively defeating Fulham FC and Paris Saint-Germain FC, meet in another of the eight matches. Celtic FC, the first British club to win the European Champion Clubs' Cup in 1967, face VfB Stuttgart. The German 1. Bundesliga outfit were deserved victors against Club Brugge KV in the previous round, as were the Scottish champions in beating RC Celta de Vigo.
Match dates
The set dates for the fourth-round matches are 20 and 27 February 2003, although matches could still be reversed. The winners of each of the eight ties know who they will face in the quarter-finals after that draw was also conducted today. Thus, Liverpool could meet Celtic in matches scheduled to take place on 13 and 20 March, although precise dates, venues and kick-off times will not be finalised until 18 December.
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* Fixture reversed
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