Graphic: how they line up

Rafael BenÍtez expects to see his share of long faces this season, but woe betide any Liverpool player who knocks on the door of the manager’s office with the intention of airing his grievances. Squad rotation, BenÍtez declared on the squad’s arrival in Toulouse yesterday, is a fact of life at Anfield and, as he prepared to commence his spin-cycle for the new campaign, there was a warning for those players who may fear being left in a whirl.

After electing to leave Javier Mascherano, Yossi Benayoun and Peter Crouch on Merseyside while his team began their Barclays Premier League campaign with a 2-1 win away to Aston Villa on Saturday, BenÍtez headed to France yesterday without Jermaine Pennant, who was told to stay at home and settle down in front of the television this afternoon, when his team-mates attempt to take a significant step towards the group stage of the Champions League by winning the first leg of their third qualifying round tie.

Even in the modern world of squad rotation, it is an unusual situation, all the more so given that Fabio Aurélio and Harry Kewell are injured and Lucas Leiva and Sebastián Leto, £10 million worth of South American imports, not yet match-fit. But, while there have already been rumblings of discontent with regard to Crouch, albeit not directly from the forward, BenÍtez has told his players that they must accept his selection policy if they are to be part of the club’s plans.

“It’s the same answer for every player,” BenÍtez said. “I hope I don’t have to repeat this every week. I heard that there are some problems with Crouch. That is not the case. I don’t have any problem. It’s the same with Pennant, Mascherano, Benayoun, Leto and Lucas. Every player knows they have team-mates to consider.

They’re professionals and they need to be ready for each game. I’ll always have the same answer. We may be in a very good rugby town here in Toulouse, but this isn’t rugby – I cannot use 15 players.”

Toulouse have not threatened the modern heavyweights of French football – Lyons, Paris Saint-Germain, AS Monaco, Marseilles, Lille, Auxerre and Nantes – since the mid1980s, but a third-placed finish in the French league in May has brought them to within 180 minutes of the Champions League, albeit with last season’s beaten finalists barring their way.

Liverpool should be too strong for Toulouse over two legs, but two factors may count against BenÍtez’s team, at least this afternoon. The first is the temperature, which is forecast to be in excess of 30C at kick-off time in the Stade Municipal, and the second is Liverpool’s fixture list, which includes a meeting with Chelsea in the Barclays Premier League at the weekend, with BenÍtez freely admitting that he will select his team today with Sunday’s game in mind.

The early kick-off, 4.30pm local time, has played into the hands of Setanta Sports, who will televise the match live, but Toulouse maintain that the timing of the game was forced on them by the French Football Federation because there is a full domestic programme in France this evening.

Benayoun, Andriy Voronin and others will hope to play tonight, but that is no guarantee that they will be involved against Chelsea. On the contrary, it may be a strong indicator that they will not, while others such as Crouch, who must by now have given up trying to read the manager’s mind, may view a place on the substitutes’ bench as a blessing in disguise.

“It’s never easy to decide which players to change,” BenÍtez said. “But this is the competition we’ve wanted. It’s good for the club and for me because I can see players working so hard in training and telling me: ‘Don’t forget, I’m here.’ ” Provided that they drop those hints on the training ground, rather than by pounding at the door of his office, they should not have any problems.

Toulouse: (4-4-2): N Douchez – A Ebondo, M Cetto, J Mathieu, J Jonsson – M Sissoko, N Dieuze, A Emana, L Batlles – A-P Gignac, J Elmander.

Liverpool (4-4-2): J Reina – A Arbeloa, D Agger, J Carragher, S Finnan – J-A Riise, J Mascherano, S Gerrard, Y Benayoun – A Voronin, F Torres.

Referee: K Vassaras (Greece)

Television: Setanta Sports 1, 3pm, live coverage from 3.30pm