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Liverpool should complete the £8 million signing of Albert Riera from Espanyol tomorrow, ending Rafael BenÍtez’s summer-long search for a left winger, but first they face a tense evening at Anfield, with Standard Liège standing between the Merseyside club and the minimum £10 million windfall that would come with reaching the Champions League group stage.

BenÍtez, the Liverpool manager, conceded yesterday that his team were fortunate to be going into the second leg of their third qualifying round tie this evening with what appears to be the upper hand, having escaped with a 0-0 draw after a “very bad” performance in Belgium a fortnight ago, but he knows that they face a difficult evening.

Asked whether the first-leg score-line was a dangerous one for his team, BenÍtez said: “Always - with the away-goals rule, a 0-0 away from home makes things difficult. But we are playing at Anfield and we have a lot of confidence. We know we have to improve and we will improve.”

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The Spaniard agreed that it was imperative for Liverpool to be among the 32 clubs who will feature in tomorrow’s draw in Monaco, joining Manchester United, Chelsea and - barring an unlikely collapse against FC Twente at the Emirates Stadium tonight - Arsenal.

“We know the Champions League is a fantastic competition and it is really, really important that we go through,” BenÍtez said. “For me, the first thing is silverware and trophies. The Champions League is also about money and you have to take the two things together, but we are here to win titles, not to make money.”

The Liverpool owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr, may beg to differ. The club can expect a minimum £10 million in television revenue and prize-money for reaching the group stage and potentially far more if they progress to the later rounds. Success in the Champions League under BenÍtez in the past four seasons has earned Liverpool in excess of £70 million, excluding gate receipts - the kind of money that Hicks and Gillett could badly do with as they continue to struggle to raise finance for the new £300 million stadium in Stanley Park.

At least, after vetoing an £18 million deal to sign Gareth Barry from Aston Villa, the Americans have agreed to loosen the purse strings, enabling BenÍtez to proceed with the signing of Riera. That deal should be concluded tomorrow, when Rick Parry, the Liverpool chief executive, will fly to Barcelona to complete the fine points of the transfer.

Given that the £8 million fee is £1.5 million lower than a deal that Espanyol agreed with Everton, the signing may be claimed as a personal triumph for Parry, whose negotiating skills have been questioned by BenÍtez. The manager, on the other hand, will be happy to get the player he wanted after the embarrassing Barry saga, having been urged by the club’s hierarchy to consider Stewart Downing, the Middlesbrough and England winger, as an alternative.

Riera made little impact during a previous spell in English football, scoring one goal in 19 appearances while on loan to Manchester City in 2006, but the 26-year-old’s reputation has soared in Spain over the past two years. He will be expected to bring much-needed width and penetration to Liverpool’s attacking play, leaving Ryan Babel to play in a more central role as an alternative to Robbie Keane alongside Fernando Torres.

Liverpool are still expected to offload at least three senior players before the transfer window closes on Monday, with Charles Itandje, Steve Finnan, Jermaine Pennant and Andriy Voronin favourites to go and doubts persisting about the future of Xabi Alonso.

Blackburn Rovers are expected to improve on an opening £3.5 million bid for Pennant, who has also been the subject, along with Sami Hyypia, of a combined £7.5 million offer from Stoke City.