Here are all the important pre-match stats and facts ahead of our Europa League clash with Unirea with LFC statto Ged Rea.

Liverpool's European Record (overall):  Pld 306 Won 173 Drawn 66 Lost 67.

Liverpool's record in UEFA Cup/Fairs Cup: Pld 95 Won 52 Drawn 23 Lost 20.

The winners of this tie will face either Lille or Fenerbahce in the last 16 with the second leg being at home.

This is the only last 32 fixture which two features two of the teams that finished third in the Champions League group stages.

This will be the first time Rafa Benitez has managed Liverpool in Europe's secondary club competition.

Liverpool's last tie in what was the UEFA Cup saw them eliminated by Marseille 3-2 on aggregate in March 2004.

On the only other occasion the Reds have parachuted from the Champions League into the UEFA Cup they were knocked out by Celtic in the Quarter Finals in 2002-03.

The Reds have lifted the UEFA Cup on three occasions - 1973, 1976 and 2001 - and ended those three seasons by also qualifying for the European Cup.

Only Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher remain at Anfield from that 2001 win.

Steven Gerrard has scored 32 goals in Europe, the most by any British player for one English club. His next goal will take him past Alan Shearer whose 32 goals came with two teams (30 for Newcastle and two for Blackburn).

Four of Gerrard's goals in Europe have come in this competition including the Final of 2001.

Liverpool need five goals for 350 in Europe at Anfield.

Albert Riera scored in the 2007 UEFA Cup Final for Espanyol only for his side to lose to Sevilla 3-1 on penalties after a 2-2 draw at Hampden Park.

Rafa Benitez won the UEFA Cup in 2004 with his Valencia team defeating Liverpool's conquerors Marseille in the Final.

In five meetings with Romanian opposition at Anfield, Liverpool have never conceded a goal.

The Reds have only ever lost two first leg ties played at Anfield - Chelsea 2009, Leeds 1971. That is two out of 44 home games and are unbeaten against non- English opposition.

Surprisingly, Liverpool have lost three of their last four home games in Europe.

Unirea are the fifth different Romanian team to face Liverpool in Europe. The Reds have never been eliminated by a team from that country and on two of the previous five occasions they went on to European glory, winning the European Cup in 1984 and the UEFA Cup in 2001.

Liverpool are one of nine former winners still involved at this stage of the competition.

The Reds are looking to become the first club ever to lift the trophy four times. They are level on three successes with Inter Milan and Juventus.

Pepe Reina has not conceded a goal at Anfield since Charles N'Zogbia scored for Wigan in injury time of the meeting in December.

Unirea's European record: Pld 8 Won 2 Drawn 3 Lost 3.

Their UEFA Cup record: Pld 2 Won 0 Drawn 1 Lost 1.

Last season Unirea won their first and so far only major honour winning the Romanian league.

They finished third in their Champions League group behind Sevilla and Stuttgart with Rangers as the bottom placed club. They picked up eight points (one more than Liverpool did in theirs).

They won one and lost two of their away games - the highlight being a 4-1 victory at Rangers.

Three of the eight Unirea goals in the Champions League were own goals, two of which were scored by Kyle Lafferty and Lee McCulloch of Rangers.

Last season in their first campaign in Europe Unirea lost 2-0 to Hamburg in the first round drawing the first leg in Germany 0-0.

Their first ever season in the top-flight in Romania came as recently as 2006. The season after they finished fifth and reached the domestic Cup Final, only to lose to Cluj.

Unirea are Liverpool's 107^th different opponent in European football.

Dan Petrescu was coach during this season's Champions League campaign but left the club just before Christmas. His successor Roni Levy has faced Liverpool before.

He was coach of Maccabi Haifa in the Champions League third qualifying round in 2006-07. His team lost 2-1 at Anfield  before drawing 1-1 in the second leg in Kiev.

In all competitions Unirea have lost just one of their last seven away games - that came in their final Champions League group match in Stuttgart.

They went into their winter break as one of three teams on 34 points at the top of the Romanian League. They were second behind Cluj.

Scorers this season:- (Europe in brackets):

Liverpool: Torres 12 (0), Kuyt 10 (1), Benayoun 7 (2), Gerrard 6 (0), Ngog 6 (1), Babel 3 (1), Johnson 2 (0), Insua 1 (0), Kyrgiakos 1 (0), Mascherano 1 (0), Skrtel 1 (0), own goals 2 (0).

Unirea: Bilasco 7 (1), Onofras 5 (1), Danalache 4 (0), Semedo 4 (1), Apostol 2 (0), Brandan 2 (1), Frunza 2 (0), Varga 2 (1), Galamaz 1 (0), Maftei 1 (0), Marinescu 1 (0), Paduretu 1 (0), Rusescu 1 (0).