Kenny Dalglish will manage Liverpool in Europe for the first time at Sparta Prague on Thursday in the Europa League.
The 59-year-old Scot's first six-year reign in charge of the Reds started after the 1985 European Cup final, when a deadly riot led to them being banned from continental competitions for six years.
Dalglish returned to the club a month ago and the Europa League is his team's last realistic chance of winning of a trophy this season.
"It is not the first time I should have qualified," Dalglish said Wednesday. "We could have been up there challenging but we could only do what we were allowed to do and play in the competitions we were allowed to. We had some fantastic success and it was great credit to everyone involved then.
"Europe wasn't to be ... in a way it helped us. Maybe if we'd have been involved in Europe we'd have tripped up in a few more games. That could have jeopardized our success."
Liverpool won three topflight titles between 1986 and 1990 and the FA Cup twice.
Dalglish will have to get used to Europe's second-tier knockout competition, with Liverpool unlikely to return to the Champions League next season.
In the round of 32, Liverpool will face a Sparta Prague side playing its first competitive fixture in two months due to the Czech Republic's winter break.
But Liverpool will be without captain Steven Gerrard and defender Daniel Agger, who have groin injuries. Midfielder Christian Poulsen will also be missing after his wife went into labor, but Joe Cole returns after overcoming a knee problem.
A 1-1 draw at Wigan at the weekend halted Liverpool's run of four straight Premier League wins, but the Reds revival under Dalglish has lifted the team to sixth in the standings away from the relegation zone.
"Kenny believes in the players, he believes we've got a good team and a good squad," defender Glen Johnson said. "He just wants you to go out and express yourself within the boundaries he sets. He almost says, 'Once you've crossed that white line it's up to you."'
While forward Luis Suarez is ineligible after playing for Ajax in the Champions League group phase, Raheem Sterling could become Liverpool's youngest player if the striker, who scored five on Monday in Liverpool's 9-0 rout of Southend in the FA Youth Cup, plays at 16 years and 71 days.
Liverpool's match in Prague is one of 15 Europa League matches on Thursday since Manchester City played on Tuesday, drawing 0-0 at Aris.
Villarreal, which is fourth in the Spanish league, travels to Napoli looking for its first win in Italy.
Walter Mazzarri's side is second in Serie A, just three points behind leader AC Milan thanks largely to Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani's 20 goals.
He has also scored five in the Europa League - a haul matched by Villarreal forward Giuseppe Rossi.
But they were both surpassed by Radamel Falcao's seven goals for FC Porto in the group stage. The Colombia striker has been out with a left-knee injury since Jan. 16 but is set to return Thursday at Sevilla.
While Sevilla is eighth in La Liga, Porto is performing strongly in Portugal, enjoying an 11-point lead while still unbeaten.
Three of Porto's rivals are also in action, with Benfica hosting German side Stuttgart, Braga at Lech Poznan in Poland and Sporting Lisbon in Glasgow at Rangers.
Ajax, which dropped out of the Champions League like Rangers, makes the short trip to Belgium to face Anderlecht, whose biggest threat comes from forward Romelu Lukaku.
"I will have to play smart not physically against him because he's very strong," Ajax defender Toby Alderweireld said. "We know he's strong and quick when he plays deep so we will have to hold him up."
Lille, which tops the French standings, hosts PSV Eindhoven, while second-place Paris St. Germain goes to Belarus to face BATE Borisov.
Bayer Leverkusen will leave its German title ambitions to one side - the team is second in the Bundesliga behind Borussia Dortmund - goes to Metalist Kharkiv, whose Ukrainian rival Dynamo Kiev is at Besiktas of Turkey.
Russia has four teams remaining in the competition, with two traveling to Switzerland: Spartak Moscow plays Basel and Zenit St. Petersburg, which was the only team to win all six group stage matches, faces Young Boys.
CSKA Moscow is at PAOK Thessaloniki and Rubin Kazan hosts Dutch champion FC Twente.
