Benitez unsure of Marseille approach

Rafael Benitez admits he does not know whether Champions League rivals Marseille will be brave or cautious at Anfield on Wednesday.

This will be Benitez's 66th European match in charge of the club, seeing him overtake Bill Shankly for the most European matches overseen by an Anfield manager, and he is aiming for victory number 39 to ensure that Liverpool reach the last 16 with one group match to spare.

But Benitez said: "Marseille are a good side. But it will be interesting to see how the approach the game. They have good players on the counter-attack, and they may sit deep and concede possession to us."

He added: "But they have to win so they may be more attack-minded and really go for it. We will see very quickly how they intend to approach this game.

"This is different to last season in this competition. After losing at home to Marseille we had one point from three games and had to win everything else. We had to fight right to the end.

"The season before, we were already qualified when we went to Galatasaray for the last match, and we were able to use other players.

"The atmosphere was so different. If we can go to PSV Eindhoven next for our final group match with our place in the knock-out stage decided, we can use young players."

On his personal milestone, Benitez expressed hope that he would go on to double his tally.

"I am really proud to be in such a position so hopefully the next 66 games I will be here as well," he said.

"This amount of European games is a good achievement for anyone, but especially when you are talking about a top side like Liverpool. That also means the team is doing well in Europe and that is very positive for the club."