Champion's League: Liverpool face obstacle course

Liverpool face a dangerous trip to Israel if they are to reach the lucrative group stages of the Champions League with boss Gerard Houllier demanding ‘‘Let’s go for it.’’

Israeli champions Maccabi Haifa stand in Liverpool’s path as the Anfield club bid for a place among Europe’s elite for the first time since the Heysel disaster of 1985.

It is the tie that could open the way to a cash boost of £8m - TV cash plus prize money and six group matches ensuring £250,000 each - for Liverpool, with the prospect of vast cash windfalls the further they go in the competition.

Leeds, who reached the semi-finals last season, picked up £15m, Bayern Munich - the eventual winners who Liverpool meet in the European Super Cup in Monaco on August 24 - scooped £28m.

Those sort of cash figures could be a burden to Liverpool’s stars, but Houllier said: ‘‘I’m not going to put that kind of pressure on my players.

‘‘We have done everything to get into this position and so I say: ‘Let’s go for it’

‘‘We have got the chance to qualify for the group phase of this competition, and our attitude must be that we should go out and take it.’’