Houllier hoping for Anfield classic

It is almost a year, of course, since Houllier's return to management was marked by a tremendous 2-0 victory over Roma. That night the Reds were helped greatly by the Anfield crowd. This Thursday, Houllier believes, The Anfield faithful must be at their most passionate once again.

Houllier said: "It seems that this is a special month for us in Europe. There have been some great games at this time of year in the past and I hope tomorrow night is just the same.

"The game against Roma last year was special. The players were special, the fans were special and the result was special. Let's make tomorrow night special as well.

"It will be a great occasion and we're all looking forward to it. As soon as we knew Celtic had beaten Stuttgart in the last round all of our players were desperate to beat Auxerre so that we could play Celtic in the next round.

"We deserved our draw last week but it's not going to be easy for us at Anfield. We're not arrogant or complacent going into the match. We are aware that Celtic are a very good side with a lot of strengths.

"I know how we are going to play the game but I'm not going to give any clues. I'm happy with the 1-1 result last week and now we will be looking to finish the job off in front of our own supporters."