Liverpool will get their 2015-16 FA Cup campaign underway with the opening fixture of the third round on Friday night as they take on Exeter City at St James' Park.

The seven-time FA Cup winners travel to Devon looking to avoid a major upset against their League Two opponents.

Exeter

As far as third-round ties go in the FA Cup, Exeter could have barely wished for a better one as they welcome the 18-time champions of England and five-time champions of Europe - as well as the TV cameras - to St James' Park.

It will be a special occasion for the League Two outfit, and a welcome distraction from their current form outside the cup competitions. The Grecians are winless in their last five League Two outings and have lost each of their last four, conceding 10 goals in the process.

The most recent of those defeats was the most disappointing yet as they were beaten at home by a Dagenham & Redbridge side who went into the match stuck in the relegation zone.

Despite that form, manager Paul Tisdale remains encouraged by his side's recent performances, telling reporters at his press conference: "I'd rather have been winning games going into the match, but I happen to think that we have been playing pretty well.

"Although we have lost games, I don't think we have looked like a side that has suddenly lost our energy and our purpose. On the contrary, I think we have gained some, but unfortunately it hasn't manifested itself in any results.

"I'd rather have won the last four games than have lost the last four, but this is a break from the league. We have nothing to lose and we shouldn't be hindered by any stress or any worries."

It has all been relatively plain sailing for Exeter up to this point in terms of the FA Cup, with comfortable victories over Didcot Town and Port Vale, both without conceding a goal.

Even reaching the third round is something of an achievement for the club, who had fallen at the first hurdle in each of the last five years and not won a single FA Cup game since 2009 before this season.

It is their first appearance in the third round of the competition for 11 years, and a shock victory would see them progress to the fourth round for the first time since January 1981, when they overcame Maidstone United at this stage.

Exeter have not played a team of this calibre in the FA Cup since 2005, although they did manage to hold Manchester United to a goalless draw at Old Trafford on that occasion before succumbing to a 2-0 defeat in the replay.

Overall, they have faced top-flight opposition 31 times in their FA Cup history, winning just three of those and none since beating Leicester City in a fourth-round replay in 1981.

Home advantage can often act as a great leveller in such a fixture, but Exeter are winless in their last six league games in front of their own fans and have failed to even pick up a point here since November.

Even so, the biggest underdogs are always given a glimmer of hope in this competition, and Exeter will be out to show that the magic of the Cup is still alive and well as they open up one of the most notable occasions in the English football calendar.

Recent form: WW
Recent form (all competitions): DWLLLL

Liverpool

He would have no doubt heard all about it throughout his football life, but Jurgen Klopp will get his first taste of the FA Cup on Friday night.

Amid suggestions from fellow Premier League manager Sam Allardyce that the German underestimated the ferocity of the top flight, Klopp will need to be wary of doing the same against a team three tiers below his own.

The strength in depth of the English football pyramid is something that can often catch foreign managers out in their early days, and Exeter will no doubt be looking to test just how seriously Klopp is taking them in the opening exchanges on Friday.

Speaking of strength in depth, Liverpool's squad is being tested to the limit through injuries at the moment, with as many as 12 players currently sidelined, half of whom have been struck down by the scourge of the hamstring strain.

Philippe Coutinho, Dejan Lovren and Kolo Toure joined that list during the midweek match against Stoke City, leading to suggestions that Klopp's style of play was perhaps behind the spate of injuries.

It could also have something to do with a hectic fixture schedule for Liverpool. Friday's match will be their fourth in 10 days, while the home game against Premier League leaders Arsenal on Wednesday will make it five in a fortnight.

Players will tell you that fatigue is not so difficult to deal with on the back of a victory, however, and Liverpool's 1-0 triumph over Stoke saw them bounce straight back to winning ways following their disappointing 2-0 reverse at West Ham United three days earlier.

Having put a toe in the first Wembley final of the season with that League Cup semi-final win, Klopp will look to take a step towards another showpiece at the home of football by becoming the first team in the hat for the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Liverpool made it all the way to the semi-finals in last season's competition and have not been knocked out in the third round since 2011, when Manchester United edged a 1-0 triumph at Old Trafford.

In Klopp they have a manager who already has cup success to his name having picked up the DFB-Pokal during his time with Borussia Dortmund, not to mention steering the German outfit to the Champions League final in 2013.

That, of course, does not guarantee success, but they will be fully confident of making it past the first hurdle at least. They have never lost to a fourth-tier side in the FA Cup, winning 11 of their 13 ties and all seven in which they have been the away team.

Liverpool are also unbeaten in 10 League Cup and Europa League outings this season, and will be particularly keen to end a decade-long wait to lift their eighth FA Cup.

Recent form (all competitions): DLWWLW

Team News

As mentioned, Liverpool are enduring an injury crisis at the moment and Klopp is expected to name a much-changed side as a result.

The main problems come in defence, where Liverpool currently lack a fit first-team centre-half with Martin Skrtel, Mamadou Sakho, Toure and Lovren all sidelined. Lucas Leiva filled in against Stoke and could be joined by Emre Can in a makeshift partnership.

Coutinho's injury has been confirmed as more serious than those suffered by Lovren and Toure on Tuesday, and the Brazilian could be out for the remainder of the month as a result.

A rare positive on the injury front was the return of James Milner from a calf problem in midweek, and he could take the armband again with Jordan Henderson still a doubt due a persistent heel problem.

Daniel Sturridge is unlikely to be risked just yet, while Divock Origi, Danny Ings, Jordan Rossiter and Joe Gomez are the others currently in the crowded Liverpool treatment room.

Exeter have injury concerns of their own, with Tisdale sweating over the fitness of David Wheeler, who is struggling to recover from a foot injury.

The match could come too soon for Christian Ribeiro, David Noble and Jamie McAllister to start, while Christy Pym, Ryan Harley and Will Hoskins remain long-term absentees.

Exeter possible starting lineup:
Olejnik; Davies, Brown, Moore-Taylor, Woodman; Grant, Nicholls, Tillson, Holmes; Nichols, Reid

Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Bogdan; Randall, Can, Lucas, Smith; Brannagan, Allen, Milner; Ibe, Benteke, Firmino

Head To Head

These two sides have met just five times before, all of which have come in cup competitions and all of which have ended in Liverpool victories by at least two goals.

The most recent of those meetings came in the League Cup in 2011 when Exeter again welcomed the Reds, then managed by Kenny Dalglish, to St James' Park. Luis Suarez, Maxi Rodriguez and Andy Carroll were on the scoresheet in a 3-1 win for Liverpool as they took another step closer to eventually winning the trophy.

They have met just once before in the FA Cup when Liverpool again ran out 3-1 winners on their way to the final. Jimmy Payne, Kevin Baron and Willie Fagan got the goals for a pre-Bill Shankly Liverpool side that included Billy Liddell and future manager Bob Paisley.

We say: Exeter 0-3 Liverpool

It is likely to be a skeleton side named by Klopp, but Liverpool should still have enough quality to comfortably progress to the fourth round. The gap between the two sides in the football pyramid is enough to suggest that and, with Exeter in such poor form too, it would be a major shock if they were to even get close to Liverpool.