BLACKBURN Rovers boss Mark Hughes says he doesn't fear a trip to Anfield - even after Liverpool's famous Champions League win over Arsenal on Tuesday night.

The Reds left it late but recorded a 4-2 victory, to win the tie 5-3 on aggregate, and set up a semi-final tie against Premier League rivals Chelsea.

But Hughes is confident that his Rovers side, who haven't lost to Liverpool since April 2006, can get something at Anfield and keep them in the hunt for a European place.

He said: "Games against Liverpool and Manchester United are great games and as a player you want to go into them and be part of them.

"The opposition will look at these games as having great significance as we do ourselves. I am looking forward to them. There is no apprehension and no fear from our point of view - we are really looking forward to it.

"Liverpool have had some difficult games this week but they have got good resources. They made a lot of changes last Saturday and they were still able to get a positive result. Whoever we face at the weekend will be a quality side, but we have done okay at Anfield in recent seasons so we are looking forward to it.

"We have got two difficult games in the last stretch, but all the games at this end of the season are difficult. We have always acquitted ourselves well against the top sides and Liverpool will know they face tough opposition on Sunday.

"Then, Manchester United (who Rovers face after Liverpool) have looked at the fixtures they have left and will have identified their one against us as a key game. We will give it our best shot as we always have done."

At the moment, Portsmouth occupy the much coveted sixth position but they will go straight into the UEFA Cup should they beat Cardiff and win the FA Cup final.

So that leaves a straight shoot-out between Rovers, Aston Villa and Manchester City for the Intertoto Cup spot.

He added: "Villa have probably got an easier run-in on paper than we have but we can only affect what we can affect. Villa have to play Birmingham, which is a key game for them, so it is just who is able to get their noses in front on the last stretch.

"European football is the expectation and demand that we put on ourselves. We are of the view that it is easier to lower expectations and over-achieve and then when I walk through the door people would be shouting from the rooftops about what a good job we have done.

"We have been in the top ten from the beginning of the season. We have not been below the halfway mark. We have had a decent season and have punchedabove our weight. People take exception to that phrase but that is how it is.

"You look at teams with bigger resources than ours and we are very much in the mix. We take a lot of pride in that but we still have to achieve something.

"Being a top ten Premier League season is all well and good but at the end of the season you want to have something to show for all your efforts and European football is what we are striving for."