Analysis: 'Be patient and then counter'
Former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson has backed his old club to ensure the battle for qualification from Champions League Group B continues to the final matchday by claiming victory against Ludogorets Razgrad this evening.
The current standings in the hard-fought section show the Reds in third position, trailing runaway leaders Real Madrid and FC Basel, whom they tackle in their sixth fixture at Anfield next month.
When they clashed with tonight's opponents - the Bulgarian champions - on home soil at the beginning of the campaign, Brendan Rodgers' team required a late Steven Gerrard penalty to squeeze past their obstinate opponents 2-1.
"When they came to Anfield, I think a lot of us thought they weren't [going to be] that good but they knocked some decent teams out of the Europa League last season," Lawrenson told Liverpoolfc.com.
"Ludogorets will probably come out to get a victory, but I think we'll win. They will come out and try to beat us, which will suit us. It should come down to the game against Basel at Anfield."
Continuing in his pre-match analysis of the encounter, the man who helped Liverpool lift their fourth European Cup in 1984 argued that patience could be the key factor in allowing the travellers to overcome Ludogorets.
"Let them play for the first 20 minutes and see what they are about," he continued. "At Anfield they looked very good on the counter-attack and were extremely well coached.
"You could see that's how they got their results away in Europe - on the counter-attack. At home they'll try to force it and we just need to sit in, be compact, not concede, and then try to pinch a goal.
"I know it's simple and it's the classic thing to do but it works as it keeps the crowd quiet. It's about having a little bit of patience and grabbing a goal."