Arsenal and Liverpool will play each other for the first time in European competition after being paired together in today's Champions League quarter-final draw. Manchester United, meanwhile, face Roma in a repeat of their clash at the same stage last year while Chelsea, the fourth Premier League side to reach the last eight, will play Turkish champions Fenerbahce.
In what is the only tie without an English club, Barcelona will play German outsiders Schalke who, like Fenerbahce, are in the quarter-finals for the first time.
Liverpool face Arsenal at the Emirates on April 1 or 2 before the return leg at Anfield a week later, with the winners going on to face either Chelsea or Fenerbahce in the semi-finals. That could mean a repeat of the Liverpool v Chelsea semi-finals of 2005 and 2007 is on the cards.
Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry admitted Arsenal were not the team he had hoped to face - and predicted the tie would be "very, very tight". He added: "We'd hoped to avoid the English teams at this stage but statistically there were bound to be two coming together and unfortunately it's us. We play Arsenal in a league game in between so we'll be playing them three times in a week."
However Parry does not expect the two games next month to differ from their league meetings. "It'll be very similar," he said. "We know them extremely well and they know us. The three games are going to be very, very tight. I don't think the Champions League is going to be any different, it's tough. We've successfully avoided a trip to Turkey so that's a bonus."
On the prospect of facing Chelsea in the semi-finals once again, Parry added: "We had noticed. Interestingly, the prospect of two English teams in the final in Moscow remains very much alive and that would be interesting to say the least."
Arsenal managing director Keith Edelman, meanhile, predicted a series of exciting matches against Liverpool. "They are a great team," he said. "I think it should make compelling viewing for the fans and I think they'll be very exciting matches."
The Gunners reached the Champions League final in 2006, losing to Barcelona, and Edelman believes their last-16 victory over defending champions Milan should give them a lot of encouragement. "The Milan match was very important," he said. "We played some sublime football and to go and beat them in the San Siro must give us a lot of hope and belief we can go all the way this time."
If Manchester United progress past Roma then they will face either Barcelona or Schalke in the second semi-final. While Liverpool and Arsenal will know all about each other from the Premier League, United will also be facing up to familiar opponents, having faced Roma in the group stages of this year's competition - beating them 1-0 at home and drawing in Italy - and having knocked them out at the quarter-final stage last year with a startling 7-1 demolition of the Italians at Old Trafford.
United assistant manager Carlos Queiroz has warned his players against complacency though. "We should know them very well. But what is our strength is also our weakness," he said. "Roma know us very well after they played against us so many times, especially after they way we beat them last season."
"I'm sure it will be a difficult game as all games are at this stage. I think we have a good chance. We know we can beat them. We need to be ready to play against a team that is improving a lot. I saw the game against Real Madrid, this Roma team is much much better compared with the team we played some months ago."
Queiroz was pleased to have avoided an English team, especially Liverpool, who United face in the Premier League shortly before the quarter-finals. "Imagine if the draw was against Liverpool for instance," he said. "To play Liverpool three times in 15 days is nothing special. There is a lot of emotion and a lot of passion of course but from my perspective and the club's perspective, to play against teams abroad is more what you expect when you talk about the Champions League."
Queiroz insisted there would be no excuse for a repeat of the trouble which marred last year's quarter-final against the same opponents. "I hope this time after the game, it is only time to celebrate a football game and nothing more," he said. "It will be sad if, after the third visit of our club to Rome, that some of these incidents happen again. There's no excuse for that if that happens again."
"You've got to give them a lot of respect," he said. "There's no such thing as an easy team or an easy game at this level. But first and foremost, we managed to avoid another English team. It's the first time we've ever played Fenerbahce so there's no history between the two clubs and I think everyone will be looking forward to a good quarter-final."
"There's a lot of clubs who didn't want to draw Chelsea. We're got a real pedigree in Europe."
But Fenerbahce vice-president Neset Yalcin backed his side to surprise Chelsea. "It will be a great atmosphere in London but we're also motivated," he said. "Recently we beat Sevilla, we're coming up. We know Chelsea haven't been doing well in the Champions League in recent years so I think it's an interesting match-up. Chelsea are a very good defensive team. We have to score in Istanbul, that's the key thing."
Yalcin also denied that Chelsea fans should worry about travelling to the Turkish capital after problems for British fans in the past, with the nadir in 2000 when two Leeds fans were fatally stabbed, adding: "I don't think there will be such problems this time."
The quarter-final draw
Arsenal v Liverpool
Roma v Manchester United
Schalke v Barcelona
Fenerbache v Chelsea
(teams listed first will play first game at home, ties to be played 1/2 April and 8/9 April)
The semi-final draw
Arsenal/Liverpool v Fenerbache/Chelsea
Schalke/Barcelona v Roma/Manchester United
(teams listed first will play first game at home, ties to be played 22/23 April and 29/30 April)
Read Paul Doyle's reaction to the draw here
