Liverpool v Crvena zvezda background

Liverpool and Crvena zvezda are both hoping to bounce back from matchday two defeats when they meet for the first time in 45 years in the third round of Group C matches.

• The Reds are second in the section on three points, with the Serbian debutants on one point but needing to respond positively to suffering their joint heaviest European defeat last time out.

Previous meetings
• The only past contests between the sides – and Liverpool's only experience of Serbian opposition – came in the second round of the 1973/74 European Cup, Crvena zvezda winning both legs 2-1 to reach the quarter-finals, where they would lose to Atlético Madrid. The Anfield result was Liverpool's first home loss in UEFA competition; the second did not follow for another 18 years.

• The first leg of the Crvena zvezda-Liverpool tie, in Belgrade, was played on 24 October 1973 – 45 years to the day before this game.

Form guide
Liverpool
• Having scored a last-gasp winner to defeat Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 at home on matchday one, the tables were turned on Liverpool last time out, a 90th-minute Lorenzo Insigne strike earning Napoli a 1-0 success in Italy.

• Fourth in the Premier League in 2017/18, Liverpool are in the group stage for the second season running, having featured once in the previous seven.

• Liverpool scored an average of 3.15 goals per game in the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League.

• The five-time winners reached their eighth European Cup final in 2017/18, when they won five of their seven UEFA Champions League home matches (qualifying included), drawing the others.

• Before being held 2-2 by Sevilla on matchday one last season, Liverpool's previous six European games at Anfield had all produced a home win. They are unbeaten in their last 17 European home matches (W12 D5), since a 3-0 loss to Real Madrid on 22 October 2014.

• The Reds have lost three of their last four European matches.

Crvena zvezda
• The Belgrade club were beaten 6-1 at Paris in their second fixture, equalling their biggest margin of defeat in European competition. Their first game in the UEFA Champions League proper ended in a goalless draw at home to Napoli.

• Despite that defeat, Crvena zvezda have lost only three of their last 19 European games (W7 D9).

• The Belgrade club have drawn two of their four European away games this season, and have lost only two of their last nine (W3 D4) – in Paris and 1-0 at CSKA Moskva in last season's UEFA Europa League round of 32 second leg to lose by the same aggregate scoreline. They had conceded only four goals in that run before shipping six on matchday two.

• Champions of Serbia in 2017/18, when they reached the UEFA Europa League round of 32, Crvena zvezda came through four qualifying rounds to reach the group stage – the first time they had successfully negotiated the UEFA Champions League preliminaries at the seventh attempt.

• Crvena zvezda kicked off this season in the first qualifying round, where they got the better of Latvia's Spartaks Jūrmala 2-0 on aggregate. Lithuania's Sūduva were beaten 5-0 over two legs in the second qualifying round, before extra time secured a 2-1 away win at Slovakia's Spartak Trnava in the third qualifying round second leg to complete a 3-2 aggregate victory. They came from 2-0 down to draw at Salzburg in the play-off second leg, going through on away goals after a 2-2 aggregate draw.

• Crvena Zvezda visited England in 2017/18, drawing 0-0 at Arsenal in the UEFA Europa League group stage, having lost 1-0 at home. They were beaten on their first three trips but have lost only one of the last six games in the country (W1 D4) – the 1991 UEFA Super Cup at Manchester United (0-1).

• This is only the third season Serbia has had a team in the group stage, after Partizan's participations in 2003/04 and 2010/11.

• Crvena zvezda are one of three newcomers to the UEFA Champions League group stage this season, alongside Hoffenheim and Young Boys.

Links and trivia
• Xherdan Shaqiri scored the decisive goal in Switzerland's 2-1 defeat of Serbia in the group stage of this summer's FIFA World Cup.

• Have played in England:
Marko Marin (Chelsea 2012/13)
Vujadin Savić (Watford 2014/15)

Latest news

Liverpool
• After winning their first six league games this season, the Reds drew with both Chelsea (1-1) and at home to champions Manchester City (0-0) on 7 October before Saturday's 1-0 victory at Huddersfield.

• Mohamed Salah scored the only goal at Huddersfield, his first for his club since 22 September and his fourth in this season's Premier League; he had five at the same stage of 2017/18.

• That winning run was the first time in the club's history they have kicked off a season with six league victories. Liverpool had not won six league matches in a row since a run of nine successive victories between February and April 2014.

• Having won their first seven matches in all competitions this season, the Reds were without a win in four (D2 L2) before the weekend.

• Liverpool paid a world-record fee for a goalkeeper this summer to bring in Alisson from Roma – this was quickly eclipsed by Chelsea's signing of Kepa Arrizabalaga.

• James Milner's nine assists in the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League set a new competition record.

• Virgil van Dijk and Georginio Wijnaldum both scored in the Netherlands' 3-0 defeat of Germany in the UEFA Nations League on 13 October.

• Salah scored direct from a corner as Egypt beat Swaziland 4-1 in Cairo in CAF African Cup of Nations qualifying on 12 October.

• Van Dijk missed the Netherlands' friendly against Belgium on 16 October as he was still suffering from bruised ribs sustained against Southampton on 22 September but he was fit to play at the weekend.

• Salah recovered from a muscle problem picked up with Egypt to face Huddersfield, but Naby Keïta (hamstring) and Sadio Mané (hand) were sidelined having suffered injuries on international duty.

• Milner had to be replaced in the first half of the 0-0 draw with Manchester City after picking up a hamstring injury but started at Huddersfield.

• Adam Lallana made his first appearance since 20 August at Huddersfield after recovering from a groin injury; he lasted 69 minutes before going off with cramp.

• Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is unlikely to play this season after suffering a serious knee injury in last season's UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg against Roma on 24 April.

Crvena zvezda
• The defeat in Paris on matchday two ended Crvena zvezda's 34-match unbeaten run in all competitions (W26 D8), stretching back to the 1-0 loss at CSKA Moskva in last season's UEFA Europa League round of 32 second leg, although they did lose on penalties in the Serbian Cup against Mačva on 14 March after a 0-0 draw.

• Crvena zvezda are 38 matches unbeaten in the Serbian Super League (W34 D4), since a 1-0 loss against Napredak on 1 October 2017. They were 3-1 winners at home to Rad on Saturday.

• The Serbian champions won their first seven games in this season's Super League, making it 17 in a row, before being held 1-1 at Belgrade rivals Partizan on 23 September. They have won all four matches since.

• Richmond Boakye scored twice against Rad, making it five goals in four league appearances this season.

• Branko Jovičić made his international debut for Serbia in a 2-0 win away to Montenegro on 12 October.

• Filip Stojković was replaced late on in Montenegro's 4-1 UEFA Nations League win in Lithuania on 14 October having suffered a minor injury. He started against Rad but was replaced on 36 minutes.

• Crvena zvezda captain Vujadin Savić had been out with a hamstring injury since matchday one before returning in Paris; he was replaced at half-time and has not featured since.