Graphic: Marseilles v Liverpool - likely line-ups and key clashes

Some time this afternoon a private jet will touch down on the French coast and George Gillett Jr, one of Liverpool’s American owners, will emerge, perhaps bleary-eyed, after a gruelling transatlantic flight. It is a scene that will add to the sense of theatre that surrounds the club’s night of reckoning at the Stade Vélodrome, but Rafael BenÍtez is not one for melodrama. Dramatic fightbacks, yes, particularly in the Champions League, but not melodrama.

The party line from BenÍtez last night was a familiar one - “business as usual”. He insisted that Liverpool will get the result they need to progress to the knockout phase – a win over Marseilles or, in the event of an improbable victory for Besiktas away to FC Porto, a draw - and that the vultures waiting to circle over Anfield will be forced to change course.

Victory this evening, followed by a home win against Manchester United on Sunday in the Barclays Premier League, would alleviate some of the pressure that has been building on BenÍtez since his falling-out with the club’s board, but the alternative – elimination at the hands of Marseilles and then defeat by United – hardly bears thinking about, particularly in the context of the crucial meeting with Gillett and Tom Hicks, his co-owner, later in the week.

BenÍtez is under pressure to apologise to the owners for his impertinence in questioning their knowledge of the European transfer market. The last thing he needs is to head back to Merseyside with the club having been eliminated from the Champions League. The financial repercussions would not be disastrous – despite the additional £16 million the club could expect to earn by winning the tournament – but elimination would do nothing for the Spaniard’s hopes of persuading an increasingly sceptical board that his demands and occasional barbs are a price worth paying for the results that he gets on the pitch.

If all this sounds hard to comprehend for those of who do not reside in the Anfield boardroom, it is doubly the case for BenÍtez’s players. As Fernando Torres, the Spain forward, said yesterday: “It would be a huge mistake to think about changing the coach if we did not get that win, given how much of an institution BenÍtez is. The fans and the players are with BenÍtez. We all need to be united for the game in France.”

That appears to be the case. For all that the unrest behind the scenes has raised questions about the American owners, Gillett is an infectious cheerleading type, one who will turn up at the Stade Vélodrome with a red scarf rather than an executioner’s black cowl. BenÍtez will barely notice, preoccupied as he is by matters on the pitch. Asked last night whether he felt under extra pressure, he offered a simple but firm “no”. Pushed farther, he said that the pressure on his players was no more and no less than it should be.

“If you fight to win trophies, you must be under pressure. That’s normal,” he said. “I think it’s the same pressure as any other important game.” It is not, though, which is why BenÍtez also described it as “a cup final”. From the moment Marseilles beat them 1-0 at Anfield in October, Liverpool have been battling against the odds in the Champions League, but as the manager said last night, that is often when they, not least Steven Gerrard, are at their best. After his substitution against Reading on Saturday, the captain will be up for this one.

It is a challenge that Gerrard has likened to the examination Liverpool faced against Olympiacos in the group stage three years ago, when another famous salvage mission proved the catalyst to the most unforgettable come-back of all as they came from 3-0 down in the final to beat AC Milan and lift the European Cup. But against Olympiacos they had a fiercely partisan Anfield crowd with them. This evening in the Stade Vélodrome, the boot will be firmly on the other foot.

Marseilles versus Liverpool

Key clash:

Benoït Cheyrou vs Steven Gerrard

As the less heralded younger brother of Bruno, a player whose name was usually preceded by the words “French flop” during his time at Anfield, Benoït Cheyrou is an unlikely potential star for Marseilles. Realistically, he has little or none of Gerrard’s class, but he is a grafter in the Mathieu Flamini mould and will make more impression on the Liverpool midfield tonight than his brother, now at Rennes, did while on Merseyside

Twists and turns:

If Liverpool win they will advance to the knockout stage of the Champions League. Lose and they will go out

Complications arise should the teams draw. Marseilles won at Anfield, meaning they would edge the English side out, assuming that FC Porto beat or draw with Besiktas

If Liverpool draw and Besiktas win, the Reds would go through. It would leave Liverpool, Marseilles and Porto all with eight points but Rafael BenÍtez’s side would go through with the best goal difference in the head-to-head matches between the three teams