NYON, Switzerland (AP) -Five-time European Cup winner Liverpool must beat Belgian champion Standard Liege in the final qualifying round to reach the Champions League's lucrative group stage.
FC Barcelona, which won the tournament in 2006, was drawn at home against the winner between Beitar Jerusalem of Israel and Poland's Wisla Krakow.
Other former champions in the third qualifying round draw included Juventus, which will face Finnish side Tampere or Artmedia of Slovakia. Steaua Bucharest, which won the European Cup in 1986, will face Galatasaray away in the first leg.
Arsenal will face Dutch side FC Twente, which is now managed by former England coach Steve McClaren.
Winners of the 16 ties drawn Friday go into the group stage alongside the 16 clubs that qualified directly because they finished as champion or runner-up in one of Europe's biggest leagues.
The home-and-away ties are played on Aug. 12-13 and Aug. 26-27, with the winners guaranteed at least at least ?6 million (US$9.4million) in prize money and television revenues during the group stage.
"We don't have to go too far which is good news, especially when you look at some of the teams we could have drawn,'' Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez said of the trip to Belgium. "People may say it's a kind draw for us but we will treat them with respect. We know some things about their team already but we will now watch more videos and get reports from our scouts before the first game.''
A club like Barcelona isn't used to being in the qualifying rounds, and football director Txiki Begiristain said both the fans and players see Champions League play as a requirement.
"Yes, we have to be in the group stage but we have to fight for it,'' Begiristain told The Associated Press. "We will be in Krakow watching the second leg of the (Wisla vs. Beitar) game and we will know a little more about the teams. We must give all respect to both teams.''
Twente's matchup with Arsenal will see McClaren return to England for one of his first matches since being fired as national team coach last November after failing to qualify for the European Championships.
"It is a good opportunity to show his quality,'' Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. "He is at the period where he can show he will bounce back and he can show his qualities - and I'm sure he has plenty.
"Steve McClaren will get his team well organized and make it difficult for us ... we will be favorites and of course it will be important for us to be at the top of our concentration to go through.''
McClaren joined Twente in June and will lead the club in its first Champions League venture.
"I expected one of the English teams, fate deals us certain cards and it has dealt us this card,'' McClaren told Sky Sports News. "On the one hand it's tough and we know that, but on the other hand it's very exciting.''
The second qualifying round in the UEFA Cup was also drawn Friday, with Red Star Belgrade facing Apoel of Cyprus, and former Italian champion Napoli playing Vllaznia of Albania.
Two of the smallest clubs - Swiss side Bellinzona and Queen of the South from Scotland - play in their country's second-tier league but qualified as beaten cup finalists.
Bellinzona, from the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, will meet Ukraine's Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.
"It is like a dream for us,'' general manager Marco De Gennaro said. "We are very curious to see this new land for us, it will be a good adventure.''
Bellinzona was promoted in May and now plays in the Swiss top division, but its stadium does not meet UEFA standards. The Aug. 28 second leg against Dnipro will be played at nearby Lugano.
Queen of the South must also play away from its Dumfries home. It will welcome Danish opponents Nordsjaelland 80 miles away at Airdrie, near Glasgow, for the first leg on Aug. 14.
"I would expect a full house and all Queen of the South fans will want to be there,'' chairman David Rae said. "We have a great chance to progress.
"It is unreal to be here today. You are rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest clubs in Europe.''
The format of the UEFA Cup sees the 32 winners in second qualifying round join 32 automatic entrants in the first round, along with the 16 teams eliminated in the Champions League third qualifying round. The 40 winners of those ties will then play in a group stage of eight five-team pools.
Standard Liege , from Belgium , must be cursing . Damn ill-luck to face an English team , we are talking about one of the best English Team in Europe .
as good as walk over....
waste time playing. lol.
FT 0-0
Robbie Keane no impact ...
Torres also looked a bit jaded tonight ....
Both cannot clicked . So far .
Gerrard is the different .
No shape , no organisations , no creations ....
Return leg , i am sure , Anfield will slaughter the Belgians .
saw only the 2nd half ....heard Reina saved a penalty .
sounds all to familiar with all the "good" signings, etc. and then back to the usual slow start.....
Bro Poolman ,
where is the thread for the 1st match ????
Come on,
Put a thread.
Liverpool is playing worse than s-league now.
Wa laau !!!!
no chemistry at all..... they better start moving up a gear soon...
liverpool ish sibeh heng...
Originally posted by Poolman:Standard Liege , from Belgium , must be cursing . Damn ill-luck to face an English team , we are talking about one of the best English Team in Europe .
standard liege sure mus b cursing, to lose on extra time which they may win liverpool if it goes to penalty shoot out. Well mayb "one of the best" team in the world wanna play a game of heart attack with its supporter?
Same ol, same ol. the dour of anfield is back to haunt you fans wih insipid displays and another season of chasing shadows, gulping the farts of sir alec fug. As a team, the anfield lads just could not come up with much imagination upfront.
You will have to see the familiarities of freaky goals, unsightly scrambles, and Dirt Kock knocking in where-did-he-feature goals to sneak in to have a preview of sir alec's farts.
Moan another season, Kops fans.