Liverpool to face Arsenal in Champions League

Arsenal and Liverpool will face each other for the first time in European competition after being drawn together in the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Friday.

With four English clubs in the last eight, the most ever from one country, it was almost inevitable that two would meet as the names were drawn at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

Manchester United face Roma in a repeat of their clash at this stage last year while Chelsea’s quest to win Europe’s premier club competition for the first time will be tested by a clash with Turkish last-eight debutants Fenerbahce.

Barcelona will have home advantage in the second leg after being drawn to play Germany’s Schalke.

With the semi-final draw also being made, the eight remaining clubs now know their prospective paths to the final to be played in Moscow.

Liverpool could face Chelsea in the last four, having beaten them at that stage last year and in 2005. Manchester United and Barcelona are also on collision course in the semi-finals.

Premier League leaders Arsenal, beaten in the final two years ago, will be at home in the first leg against five-times European champions.

With a Premier League clash on April 5 the sides will meet three times in a week in fixtures that will define their respective seasons.

Liverpool, finalists in two of the last three seasons, are struggling to cement fourth place in the league and the Champions League is their last chance of a trophy this season.

“We had hoped to avoid the other (English) teams at this stage,” Liverpool’s chief executive Rick Parry told Sky Sports News.

“Unfortunately we play Arsenal in a league game in between so we’ll be playing them three times in a week - but there we go.”

Arsenal managing director Keith Edelman echoed his sentiments.

“We would have preferred European competition - this is the Champions League,” he said. “But Liverpool are a great team.”

Twice winners Manchester United and Roma have plenty of recent history in the competition.

Roma will have painful memories of the 7-1 drubbing they suffered at Old Trafford last season after a first leg marred by crowd trouble had finished 1-1 in the Olympic Stadium.

They met again in the groups stage of this season’s competition, with United winning 1-0 at home and the match in Italy ending 1-1. Like last year Roma will be at home first.

“They are a much better team than they were last season,” United assistant manager Carlos Queiroz told Sky Sports News, referring to the Italian club’s home and away victories over Real Madrid in the last 16.

Barcelona, who are likely to be without Argentine Lionel Messi for both legs of their quarter-final, will have been relieved to avoid English opponents as they still have memories of recent defeats by Liverpool and Chelsea.

Schalke, who qualified for the knockout stages despite picking up just eight points in their group, have never met Barcelona before and will need a strong performance at home in the first leg to stand a chance of upsetting the Catalans.

Likewise Turkish champions Fenerbahce, coached by Brazilian great Zico, will aim to benefit from their fanatical home support in the first leg as they tackle Chelsea.

They are also meeting for the first time in Europe.

The quarter-final first legs will be played on April 1-2 with the returns a week later. The semi-finals start on April 22-23.