Liverpool may face Turkish test

Liverpool were last night facing the prospect of becoming the first English club to meet Galatasaray in Istanbul since two Leeds fans were murdered there last year.

The structure of the second group phase of the Champions League means Liverpool will definitely be in a group containing either the Turks or Porto.

The 16 qualifiers have been split into four pools with the secondphase groups being made up of one team from each pool. Arsenal and Manchester United are in the same group as Galatasaray and Porto.

Liverpool cannot be drawn against an English club and if Juventus and Liverpool are in the same section, Porto will be ruled out because they were in the same first-stage group as the Italians.

A Liverpool-Juventus match would be the first competitive meeting between the sides since the Heysel tragedy of 1985.

The consequential guarantee that Liverpool would have to visit Istanbul would bring safety worries for the Anfield supporters and a diplomatic headache for the FA.