Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has hailed Champions League opponents Real Madrid as "probably the best team in the world at the moment."
Rodgers, whose team lost 3-0 to Real at Anfield last month, takes his side to the Bernabeu in the aftermath of a disappointing 1-0 Premier League defeat at Newcastle on Saturday.
But he vowed that they would be doing everything possible to make life tough for Carlo Ancelotti's Madrid side, and the BBC reported him as saying: "I think we showed in the previous game, although the score was 3-0, that we can still have moments when we can hurt Real Madrid -- and that will be the idea.
"They are probably the best team in the world at the moment, and we really look forward to big games.
"When you come up against the best opponents, that is the challenge and what makes you perform to your best."
Rodgers stressed that Liverpool would not be going to the Bernabeu as "a team expected to lose and then look at the other games as games to qualify."
He added: "For us, we see it as an opportunity. We still very much have qualification in our hands."
The Anfield club are third in their group -- level on three points with both Ludogorets above them and Basel below them -- while Real are clear at the top with a maximum nine.
Midfielder Jordan Henderson said Liverpool would be out to prove their doubters wrong in Spain.
Henderson could captain the Reds at the Bernabeu, with Rodgers saying Steven Gerrard may be rested, and said: "It is a huge game. Real are in a good run of form so it will be a tough test for us -- but it's a great opportunity for us to show what we can do and prove people wrong.
"There is still a lot of confidence in the group. We have had a few people criticising us over the last few games, so this is a massive opportunity to prove a few people wrong and see how good we are.
"We are going into it with a view of getting something out of it. We feel we have the players to come here and get a result."