Paul O'Reilly:, external Half n half scarves are great souvenirs for non-league fans in big cup matches.

Image source, AP

Image source, Getty Images

All this talk of Ronaldo visiting British shores with Real Madrid brings back memories of the original Ronaldo terrorising Manchester United at Old Trafford in 2003.

United won on the night, but went out on aggregate. Ronaldo was brilliant...

BBC Sport chief football writer Phil McNulty at Anfield

Image source, Getty Images

"Great ovation for Liverpool's players as they went to complete their warm up just in front of The Kop - manager Brendan Rodgers insists his team are not underdogs for this game tonight but one look at that array of attacking riches at the disposal of Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti underscores the size of the task facing Rodgers' side."

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Nathaniel Jansen:, external Ronaldo has never scored at Anfield. Unfortunately his 10 team-mates today are better than the other times he visited.

Rian Hoskins:, external While Bale's absence is a blow to Madrid, Isco is a terrific young midfielder. Intrigued to see how Glen Johnson handles Ronaldo.

Tom Gee:, external Looking forward to seeing a Liverpool defence "bullied" by Bobby Zamora at the weekend trying to cope with Ronaldo and co.

Image source, Getty Images

Now we're talking Mark. We can all learn something here. Spartak hammered Arsenal 5-2 in that game in 1982, with former Leeds and Reading manager Brian McDermott in the Arsenal side.

No surprise that Barca & Real feature on your lists.

Who are the best side you've ever seen up against your team? Which side passed you off the park? Who sliced through your defence like a knife through butter? Anyone score a goal against your team which was so good you had to stand and applaud?

Mark Bennett:, external Thrashed and applauded them off the pitch. 1982 Spartak Moscow beat Arsenal 5-2 at Highbury. Amazing performance.

Niall Kelly:, external Barca in the UCL final in 09... That team was at its peak.

Aftab Ahmed:, external Real Madrid in 01 & 03 vs Man Utd. They were on another level going forward in that era.

Basel will be looking to keep the pressure on Liverpool in Group B.

Depending on what happens at Anfield, of course, the Swiss champions could tighten their grip on second place if they follow up their win over Liverpool last time out by beating point-less Ludogorets Razgrad in Bulgaria.

In Group D, Galatasaray could go above Arsenal into second, although that would probably need the Gunners to lose at Anderlecht and Galatasaray to achieve the unlikely and beat group leaders Borussia Dortmund in Turkey.

In Group A, all four teams start tonight with three points.

Last season's losing finalists Atletico Madrid top the group on goal difference and are in Sweden to face Malmo, forever associated with their 1-0 defeat by Nottingham Forest in the 1979 final of the European Cup. Serie A leaders Juventus go to Olympiakos.

In Group C, leaders Monaco go to Benfica, who are the only team in the group without a point. Bayer Leverkusen host unbeaten Zenit St Petersburg, who currently lead the Russian league, under former Chelsea and Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas.

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Vince in Peterborough: I don't know what's more shocking, the fact that Mario Balotelli starts for Liverpool tonight or fact that he was still on the pitch at the end of the QPR game. He is simply not a team player.

Ollie in Lancaster: I honestly think Liverpool have a stronger bench than Real tonight. Come on you red men!

Fear not, we will of course have full live text commentary on El Clasico on Saturday afternoon. A certain Mr Suarez is back...

Andy West
European football writer

"Close to strongest possible team for Real Madrid tonight. Ramos and Carvajal in for Varane and Arbeloa, and there's your Clasico line-up."

Alex Corns:, external First and last one I'll ever buy. And I'll never bring it to a match.

Image source, @alex_corns

Tommy Winturbay:, external Don't understand the hate. Great memento for a first match or big occasion. Not for a Premier League game though.

Andrew Harvey:, external Half and half scarves are for the people who don't make it to matches often, not for everyone.

We've mentioned the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo is closing in on the record number of goals scored in the Champions League but how about this for a strike rate - since he joined Real Madrid he has scored 54 goals in 54 Champions League games.

Unreal...

BBC Sport chief football writer Phil McNulty at Anfield

"The choice of Bon Jovi's 'Livin' On A Prayer' over Anfield's public address system has been taken by some as a message to Liverpool's defence - so vulnerable this season - as they prepare to face Real Madrid's attacking force of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and James Rodriguez."

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"I think I had a couple of options throughout my career to go to Real Madrid but I resisted temptation because of the big connection I had to my hometown club."

Those were the words of Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard this week as he reflected on the big white one that got away.

"It may be something I regret further down the line by not challenging myself and having a change of scenery in a different country but I would have had a bigger regret leaving the club I love," he added.

"I am a big fan of Madrid, they are a special club, but for me Liverpool are my number one club."

Is it a mistake for Gerrard to never leave Anfield?

BBC Radio 5 live

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Phil Neville
BBC Radio 5 live in Anderlecht

"I agree with Arsenal Wenger. The performances have been good but Arsenal haven't been getting the results the performances deserve. Although they didn't play well on Saturday against Hull.

"They come up against an inexperienced Anderlecht tonight and the key is to get off to a good start, especially with the young goalkeeper behind them."

Phil Neville and John Murray will provide live coverage of Anderlecht v Arsenal, which kicks off at 19.45 BST, on BBC Radio 5 live.

Image source, Reuters

So stop Ronaldo, stop Real?

Probably not. The current European champions have World Cup star James Rodriguez to worry Liverpool. And Karim Benzema.

Oh, and Luka Modric. Toni Kroos is pretty good. Isco too. Even Javier Hernandez has been among the goals.

In short, their squad is very, very, very good. Liverpool will need to find the sort of form which saw them steamroller most of the Premier League last spring to pull this one off.

Anfield rises to the Liverpool players as they step out for their pre-match warm-up. A few nerves tonight maybe?

Arsenal's medical team have a longer waiting list than your local doctors' surgery. But there is some cheer for Gunners boss Arsene Wenger as he welcomes back Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey for his first start since 27 September.

England right-back Calum Chambers also comes back into the team following a domestic suspension as Wenger makes three changes from Saturday's 2-2 home draw against Hull.

As we told you earlier (see 18:55), third-choice keeper Emiliano Martinez makes his Champions League debut in the absence of Wojciech Szczesny (suspension) and David Ospina (injury). His cover on the bench is 17-year-old Englishman Ryan Huddart, who has never made a senior appearance.

Image source, Getty Images

There are plenty of star names on display at Anfield tonight, but one major player will unfortunately be missing.

Former Tottenham man Gareth Bale - the world's most expensive footballer - is out with a thigh injury. He has also been ruled out of the weekend's El Clasico against Barcelona.

A major blow for Real - and for newsagents in Wales.