Liverpool look to pass French test

Liverpool FC and Olympique Lyonnais will meet for the first time when they line up for the first of their Group E double-header on Matchday 3.

• The French side are the early pacesetters in the section thanks to wins against ACF Fiorentina (1-0) and Debreceni VSC (4-0).

• Liverpool, meanwhile, will seek to make home advantage tell having been unable to build on their 1-0 defeat of Debrecen at Anfield on Matchday 1 – achieved thanks to Dirk Kuyt's goal in added time at the end of the first half – in their most recent outing, going down 2-0 in Florence.

Match background
• Although Liverpool have never faced Lyon before, they boast a strong home record against French opposition. The solitary reverse in an eleven-match sequence that includes nine wins came against Olympique de Marseille on 3 October 2007, Mathieu Valbuena scoring the only goal of the group-stage fixture. It is the only defeat Liverpool have suffered in their last 12 UEFA Champions League outings at Anfield – which have yielded nine wins.

• Liverpool avenged that loss when Marseille returned to Anfield in last season's group stage. Steven Gerrard hit the game's only goal after 23 minutes.

• Lyon have won just once on English soil – a 1-0 success at Blackburn Rovers FC in the 1998/99 UEFA Cup first round, a result that set up a 3-2 aggregate triumph. Jacek Bąk scored their winner at Ewood Park.

• The Ligue 1 side lost 1-0 at Manchester United FC on their most recent visit in March 2008. Cristiano Ronaldo's goal consigned Lyon to a 2-1 aggregate defeat in the first knockout round.

• Yet Lyon can take confidence from a fine recent away record in the UEFA Champions League group stage, winning ten and losing just two of 15 UEFA Champions League group games on the road since 2004/05.

Team ties
• Gérard Houllier served both clubs as manager, Liverpool from 1998-2004 and Lyon from 2005-07.

• Rafael Benítez got the better of two Ligue 1 teams when leading Valencia CF to the 2003/04 UEFA Cup. Benítez's Valencia side were 4-2 aggregate winners against FC Girondins de Bordeaux in the quarter-finals and then defeated Marseille 2-0 in the final.

• Liverpool's Albert Riera was in that Bordeaux side having spent two seasons with the club between 2003 and 2005. However, he is unlikely to retain fond memories of scoring the opening goal when Bordeaux visited the Stade de Gerland in May 2005 – Lyon hit back to win 5-1.

• Liverpool forward David Ngog was at Paris Saint-Germain FC between 2006 and 2008, scoring once in 18 games.

• Liverpool midfielder Damien Plessis is a product of Lyon's academy. He swapped the Stade de Gerland for Anfield aged 19 in 2007.

• Liverpool forward Fernando Torres hit the only goal for Spain against France in the UEFA European Under-16 Championship final in 2001. He was later in the Spain team defeated 3-1 by France in the last 16 of the 2006 World Cup, Lyon's Sidney Govou featuring as a substitute on the opposing side.

• In his final European tie as a player, Lyon coach Claude Puel was in the AS Monaco FC team that beat Leeds United AFC 1-0 in the UEFA Cup first round in 1995/96 – a result that failed to undo the damage of a 3-0 first-leg loss at home.

• Puel was in charge of a LOSC Lille Métropole side featuring Mathieu Bodmer and Jean II Makoun that held Manchester United FC to a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford in the 2005/06 group stage, then prevailed 1-0 in France.

• The trio fared less well against United with Lille in the 2006/07 first knockout round, losing 1-0 home and away.

• Lyon forward Lisandro scored on his first visit to Anfield but still finished on the losing side as FC Porto succumbed to a 4-1 group-stage loss in 2007/08. He also found the net against Arsenal FC in a 2-0 home win for Porto in last season's group stage but failed to score in the quarter-final defeat by Manchester United FC.

• Lyon defender Jean-Alain Boumsong faced Liverpool three times while at Newcastle United FC. He played his part in a 1-0 home victory in March 2005 but tasted defeat twice the next season, losing 2-0 at Anfield and then 3-1 at St James' Park in a match where he was sent off.

• Rémi Garde, who was at Arsenal between 1996 and 1999, is now on Lyon's coaching staff.