Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has told his players to secure qualification for the Champions League knockout stages on Wednesday night when he will re-write the Anfield record books.
French club Marseille's visit to Merseyside will see Benitez take charge of Liverpool for a 66th European tie, taking him past the record previously held by Bill Shankly, the legendary Scot who managed Liverpool between 1959 and 1974.
A victory for Liverpool will guarantee their presence in the last 16, with one group game remaining, and even a draw could be good enough to secure their passage should Atletico Madrid beat PSV Eindhoven in Spain.
But Benitez wants nothing left to chance and is keen to ensure there is no possibility of Liverpool needing a result in the last game of the group stages against Eindhoven in Holland next month.
Liverpool are on course for a possible Premier and Champions League double this season. Despite a disappointing goalless draw against Fulham last Saturday, they are level on points at the top of the Premier League and Benitez believes his squad have the quality to maintain a strong challenge for both titles.
Gerrard missed the Fulham game with a groin strain, but the Liverpool captain trained on Tuesday and is set to start against Marseille. "Gerrard was training this morning and I think he will be fit," said Benitez.
Liverpool's Spanish full-back Alvaro Arbeloa has warned his team-mates that they cannot afford to underestimate Marseille. The French club is fighting to stay in the competition after taking three points from the first four group games.
But Arbeloa witnessed the damage Marseille inflicted on their last visit to Anfield in October 2007, when Mathieu Valbuena's late goal earned the visitors a memorable victory.
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