Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres has said that he hopes to see former club Liverpool qualify for the Champions League group stages this season.

The Reds will discover their opponents for the qualifying playoff round on Friday as they bid for a return to European football's elite club competition for just the second time in eight years.

Torres, who played for Liverpool between 2007 and 2011, believes that Jurgen Klopp's side will continue to improve during the upcoming campaign and hopes for Atletico to be drawn alongside them in Europe.

"It's really exciting that Liverpool are back in the Champions League and hopefully they can get through in these two games they have to play. It's nice for football in general to have Liverpool back in the Champions League and who knows, we could face each other," he told the club's official website.

"They are doing things better. Last season was a very good season with some ups and downs, but I think they showed they can be a great team. They are one more year together and if they can keep all of their players everybody is aware of what they can do and hopefully they can keep on improving and do better than last season.

"The manager knows how to use these kinds of players and they have shown they are dangerous in attack, but at the end it's all about consistency – which is the most difficult thing in football. When you play against these top teams in European competition you need to be consistent and I think they are doing better and better every year, and if they can do it a little bit better this season they can do great things."

Torres scored 81 goals in 142 appearances for Liverpool.