Previous meetings
Games 1, Liverpool wins 1
The only previous meeting between the pair came in the 1981 European Cup final when Alan Kennedy popped up for Liverpool's late winner in Paris.
Managers
Rafa Benitez (Liverpool)
Benitez has failed to get his hands on the Premier League trophy since arriving in England in 2004 but his impressive record in Europe, capped by the remarkable 2005 Champions League triumph, has seen him continually linked with a move back to his homeland. Fitting that Real Madrid seems the most likely destination if he ever leaves Anfield.
Juande Ramos (Real Madrid)
Eyebrows were raised when Ramos was handed the reins at the Bernabeu soon after being sacked by Tottenham. But the double UEFA Cup winner with Sevilla has overseen big improvements and he knows plenty about his opponents from his short reign at White Hart Lane.
Key battles
Steven Gerrard v Lasanna Diarra
European talisman Gerrard should be raring to go after sitting out against Manchester City this weekend as he recovered from a hamstring injury. Diarra, the former Chelsea, Arsenal and Portsmouth man, will be charged with trying to stop the England midfielder driving his side forward from the middle of the park.
Fernando Torres v Fabio Cannavaro
Spain's hero from the Euro 2008 final against the last man to lift the World Cup. Injury has prevented former Atletico Madrid hero Torres from hitting the heights he managed in his debut season on Merseyside but he only needs a split second to punish defenders. Just ask Chelsea and Portsmouth. At 35 and one of the smallest central defenders in football, Cannavaro will rely on his superb reading of the game to keep Torres in check.
Jamie Carragher v Raul
Raul is Real Madrid. The 31-year-old became his club's highest-ever scorer earlier this month, overtaking Alfredo Di Stefano. Carragher would run through a brick wall for Liverpool but even that might not be enough to stop the man with more Champions League goals to his name than any other player in the history of the tournament.
Current form
Liverpool looked down on the rest of the Premier League for most of the season but a sticky run has now allowed Manchester United to leapfrog them at the top. They enjoyed a great start to the Champions League too, finishing unbeaten in their group ahead of Atletico Madrid.
Real are in fine form right now and chalked up a ninth win in a row when they hammered Real Betis 6-1 at the weekend. Rivals Barcelona were storming away at one point but their seven-point lead at the top looks a little shaky now. Real comfortably qualified from the Champions League group stages despite two defeats along the way.
European Cup wins
Liverpool 5 Real Madrid 9
