Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has warned his players they will have to be at their very best if they are going to live up to their favourites billing and lift the Europa League trophy (13/2 Outright) this season.

The Reds dropped into UEFA’s second-tier competition from the Champions League and will face Romanian champions Unirea Urziceni in the first leg of their last-32 tie at Anfield (Liverpool 3/10, Unirea 9/1 draw 4/1 Match Betting) on Thursday evening.

Unirea are another side who had to settle for Europa League football following their Champions League exploits, while the likes of Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Marseille, Wolfsburg have done likewise.

These top sides join strong contenders such Premier League duo Everton and Fulham, plus Valencia, Villarreal, Hamburg and Sporting Lisbon in the competition.

Therefore Benitez feels it would be a major achievement if his Reds side were to clinch the trophy in May.

“To be fair, if you analyse the teams that are in the competition there are some very strong teams,” he said.

“It will be a difficult competition, the only one we can win now, so we will try to do our best from the beginning.

“We have to progress, we have to win the first round and go forward because we might have Juventus, Valencia or Atletico Madrid.

“Any club in the Europa League which reaches the semi-final will be good enough to be in the Champions League too.

“To win a European competition against top sides is important and if you cannot be in the Champions League you have to do your best here and try to bring something for the fans.

“The response of the players to being knocked out of the Champions League was fantastic and we have to keep doing the same.”

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