Stats: Skrtel set for 250 not out at Basel

Liverpool and Basel meet for only the third time in Europe. In 2002-03 they were drawn in the Group Stages and drew 1-1 at Anfield with Milan Baros netting for the Reds.

Then, in the final game of the section, Liverpool needed to win at St. Jakob-Park to progress. The Reds found themselves 3-0 down after 29 minutes.

They rallied in the second half with goals from Danny Murphy (61), Vladimir Smicer (64) and in the 84th minute, Michael Owen equalised from a rebound after missing a penalty.

However, the Swiss, by virtue of a draw, had held on to qualify for the next stage at Liverpool's expense. Steven Gerrard started the game but was substituted at half-time.

Liverpool have played 10 times against Swiss opponents, winning six and losing one. They are unbeaten in the last nine games since losing 2-1 to Servette in Geneva in 1971 in the Cup Winners Cup.

They have found the net in all 10 previous meetings with teams from Switzerland, scoring 28 times. On Swiss soil they won three and lost one of their five visits.

Their last visit to Switzerland saw them win 5-3 against Young Boys in the Europa League two seasons ago.

The Reds have played five different Swiss sides in Europe - Servette, FC Zurich, Sion, Basel and Young Boys.

Liverpool are looking to win the opening two games of a Champions League group for the second time in 10 attempts.

In 2008-09 they won 2-1 at Marseille and beat PSV Eindhoven 3-1 at home. It is the only instance in 11 European group stages in both competitions that they have achieved the feat.

In the game against Ludogorets a fortnight ago, Mario Balotelli scored on his European debut for the club as he had done in his previous spell in England with Manchester City.

Only Michael Owen has ever scored a European hat-trick away from home for the club. He performed the feat twice - the last time was 12 years ago this month in Moscow against Spartak.

Raheem Sterling, Jordan Henderson and substitute Rickie Lambert all played at St. Jakob-Park a little over three weeks ago in England's 2-0 victory over Switzerland.

Basel have won the Swiss League title for the last five seasons, nine in the last 13 and 17 times in total. They have also lifted the Swiss Cup 11 times with the last success coming in 2012.

This is their 16th campaign in the European Cup/Champions League. Their best season came in 1973-74 when they reached the quarter-finals only to lose 6-5 on aggregate to Celtic. Kenny Dalglish scored in both legs.

In the Champions League they have reached the last 16 once - in 2011-12 they took four points against Manchester United before being beaten 7-1 on aggregate by Bayern Munich.

Last season, despite beating Chelsea home and away (2-1 in London, 1-0 in Basel), they failed to progress from the group and were parachuted into the Europa League. After beating Maccabi Tel Aviv and Salzburg they beat Valencia 3-0 in the quarter-finals before losing 5-0 in the return.

In three of the last four seasons they have dropped into the Europa League from Europe's premier club competition. In matchday one, they lost 5-1 at Real Madrid with Derlis Gonzalez scoring a 38th minute goal. His side were already 4-0 down at the time.

Basel have now conceded five goals or more in a Champions League games on five occasions - matching the competition high shared with Sturm Graz and Anderlecht.

Marco Streller (above) is the club's top scorer in UEFA competition with 23 goals. Coach Paulo Sousa has managed three clubs in England - Queens Park Rangers, Swansea City and Leicester City.

He has faced Brendan Rodgers twice as a manager. In November 2008, his first game in charge of QPR saw his team team lose 3-0 at home to Brendan's Watford. In August 2009, he was Swansea manager as his team drew 0-0 with Reading.

Like Liverpool, Basel drew 1-1 at home last Saturday (to Thun) and were similarly undone by a last-gasp equaliser. That was their 13th game of the season in all competitions and they have scored 32 goals in that time.

Since their defeat at the Bernabeu in matchday one they have won two and drawn one of their three games - scoring eight goals. They are currently top of their Super League with 22 points from 10 games - two points ahead of FC Zurich.