Liverpool begin the real business of defending their Champions League crown against Real Betis on Tuesday after coming through the ignominy of three qualifying rounds.
Liverpool were made to start at the very beginning of the competition by UEFA following their stunning comeback win over AC Milan in the Istanbul final.
Inspired by captain Steven Gerrard, who scored seven goals in their six qualifiers, Liverpool reached the group phase with a 3-2 aggregate win over CSKA Sofia.
The Merseysiders went on to win the European Super Cup with a 3-1 extra-time victory over UEFA Cup holders CSKA Moscow, but their domestic form has been none too impressive.
Rafael Benitez's side have scored only one goal in their opening three Premier League games, winning one and drawing two.
Attempts to end the goal drought in Tuesday's Group G game will not helped by the absence of injured Spain striker Fernando Morientes.
Benitez and the Spanish exiles in his team will also know that, although Betis are newcomers to the Champions League, they are no novices when it comes to high pressure games.
"I know a lot about Betis," Liverpool's Spanish fullback Josemi told the club's website.
"They are an excellent team and will make it hard for us to win the game. But that is true of all the teams we have been drawn with...we are the European champions and everyone will want to beat us."
"They have lots of options in attack, but I do think they are vulnerable at the back and I see no reason why we can't get three vital points and get our campaign off to the best possible start."
Though lacking strength in depth, the Andalucians are a streetwise and talented outfit, coached by the wily former Barcelona boss Llorenc Serra Ferrer.
They beat Osasuna to win the King's Cup last season, lost just two games at their own stadium and were the only side not to be beaten by champions Barcelona in the league.
They narrowly lost out to Valencia in the opening match of the season, but edged Osasuna 1-0 on Saturday thanks to a penalty from leading striker Ricardo Oliveira.
The win came at a heavy cost, however.
Left back Luis Fernandez is out with a leg muscle injury while influential Br azilian forward Edu, one of the few players with Champions League experience from his time with Celta Vigo, is also sidelined with a twisted knee.
Mercurial Spanish international winger Joaquin may also miss out due to a knee problem.
Despite the setbacks, leading scorer Oliveira, who finished ahead of fellow Br azilian Ronaldo in the Spanish scoring charts with 22 goals last season, is still optimistic.
"We are all very keen to show we can beat the European champions and we will be fighting every inch of the way to do that," he said.
Probable teams:
Betis: 13-Toni Doblas, 16- Oscar Lopez, 4-Juanito, 5-David Rivas, 7-Fernando Varela, 17-Joaquin or 14-Capi, 20-Marcos Assuncao, 18-Alberto Rivera, 21-Xisco, 9-Fernando, 12-Ricardo Oliveira.
Liverpool: 25-Jose Manuel Reina, 28-Stephen Warnock, 23-Jamie Carragher, 4-Sami Hyypia, 17-Josemi, 6-John Arne Riise, 8-Steven Gerrard, 16-Dietmar Hamann, 10-Luis Garcia, 9-Djibril Cisse, 15-Peter Crouch.