Liverpool, Newcastle eye progression

The Reds face Heart of Midlothian at Anfield on Thursday evening (Friday morning AEST) looking to build on its 1-0 advantage from the first leg in Edinburgh, seized thanks to a late own goal from Andy Webster.

Despite taking just one point from its opening two Premier League games, there is something of a feel-good factor at Anfield after Turkey midfielder Nuri Sahin completed his move to the club on a season-long loan from Real Madrid this week.

The captain of Borussia Dortmund's title-winning team two seasons ago may not feature against Hearts, but manager Brendan Rodgers could choose to hand starts to some of his more senior players in a bid to get the job done.

"Anything can happen, a corner or a free-kick can go in, but if we get the next goal then we'll be in a good position," said Liverpool midfielder Charlie Adam after the first leg.

Meanwhile, Newcastle did well to take a 1-1 draw from the first leg of its tie against Atromitos in Athens last week after coach Alan Pardew decided to leave a whole host of regular starters on the sidelines.

It will start as favourite to finish things off at St James' Park.

Inter Milan takes a 2-0 lead back to San Siro for the second leg of its tie with Vaslui of Romania, and last season's runner-up Athletic Bilbao heads to Finland with its progress all but secure after hammering HJK Helsinki 6-0 last week.

Levante, along with the likes of Lazio and PSV Eindhoven, also seem nailed-on to take their place in the draw in Monaco.

Elsewhere, Guus Hiddink takes his Anzhi Makhachkala side to his native Netherlands to face AZ, with the Russian side a goal to the good.