This time, almost a year on, the Bantams are already down, and Liverpool Houllier believes are a very different proposition.

With Steven Gerrard and Vladimir Smicer back in the squad after suspension and injury respectively, Liverpool know only a victory will keep them in the charge for the Premiership’s third spot and qualification for the Champions League.

Houllier said: ‘‘This is a different team from a year ago. We have grown up in maturity and discipline, we are a bit more clinical and that’s due to European experience and also because our team was young then and they have progressed a lot now.

‘‘They have developed and progressed and they now have the quality that is needed to win things.’’

Liverpool can’t afford to do anything but win this time at Valley Parade, with Leeds and Ipswich also battling away with them for third spot behind Manchester United and Arsenal.

Last season Leeds pipped Liverpool for third spot, and this time round with Liverpool still trying to reach the promised land the Elland Road side are on the very brink of the European Cup Final.

To get into the elite group themselves, Liverpool must win at Bradford and then triumph at home to Newcastle on Saturday and also at Anfield next Tuesday against Chelsea.

Two cup finals then follow in five days before the final league game at Charlton on May 19 leaving Liverpool confronted by a punishing, congested schedule of six games in 19 days.

Houllier said: ‘‘We are in a cup race with initially three league games ahead of us in a week, and I think we can win all of our games left.

‘‘The players know if they do that they won’t have to wait for other results to know where we stand.

‘‘It’s an exciting period for the club, at the end of a season with two cup finals to play but the team are very determined to get where they want to go.’’

Liverpool dare not take Bradford lightly, even if Jim Jefferies’ men are already dusting down the First Division route maps.

Bradford made a big impression on Anfield on the first day of the season, playing exceptionally well before losing 1-0 to an Emile Heskey strike.

Houllier added: ‘‘That game at Anfield at the beginning of the season is a good reminder for us.

‘‘They played very well and only lost 1-0, and from what I saw that day I felt they would do better than they have done this term.

‘‘They were difficult to break down and very committed. I expect nothing different now.’’

But Houllier, too, won’t allow himself to forget that day of torment last season when Liverpool couldn’t handle that same Bradford commitment.

He said: ‘‘I cannot forget a game and a result that meant we were not in the Champions League.

‘‘We have kept that in mind and will draw a lesson from it because it was failure.

‘‘Now we have a different set-up, a different squad and we are more ambitious.

‘‘But I don’t think Bradford will express themselves better than they did last season when they had the pressure of relegation hanging over them.

‘‘And from our point of view I would prefer to play with something at stake and this is a great opportunity for us to do well.’’

Liverpool, after four successive victories and only one defeat in their last 13, won’t want a repeat of last season’s nightmare.

Houllier continued: ‘‘Bradford will play without any weight on their shoulders now, whether that will free them and give them a lift I don’t know.

‘‘But we know we have to play well. We are strong and solid and we can cope. If you look at our run I think we deserve to be in the top three but deserving is one thing, to make it is another.

‘‘As a team we want to keep our foot on the pedal and keep going. Last year Bradford made us very unhappy, I hope we are the happy ones this time.

‘‘They made us very unhappy and miserable last season, but this is a different story and it’s down to us to do what we have to do.’’