Marseille v Liverpool: Preview

Rafael Benitez arrived in the south of France desperately trying to calm wild expectations following Liverpool's humbling of the champions of Europe.

But already talk on both sides of the channel is of whether Liverpool can achieve Premier League and Champions League glory in tandem following their victory over Manchester United on Saturday.

Marseille boss Eric Gerets was so impressed he described Liverpool as "Duracell bunnies'' and an example to the world for their performance in reducing Sir Alex Ferguson's men to despair in a 2-1 defeat at Anfield.

Benitez needed to have the famous battery advert explained to him but once he cottoned on, the Spaniard said: "It is nice that we have made such an impact. As far as battery-powered, I suppose they are talking of Javier Mascherano.

"But as far as making an impression, I am only concerned about the impact it has on us and our confidence. Too many people want to talk too early about titles and other things.

"We did well against Manchester United but we must be focused on the next game, and that is Marseille.

"We must not allow ourselves to get carried away. We played well on Saturday but the Champions League is different.

"Clearly we must not think about what happened in the past and think only of our next game and making sure that we win it. Otherwise you waste what has gone before.

"We have talked to the players about putting Manchester United out of their minds and just concentrate on the future.''

Benitez is without Brazilian full-back Fabio Aurelio, who has a calf injury, but he confirmed that Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres are both fit to start in the opening Group D clash in the Stade Velodrome.

Marseille coach Gerets, who has twice plotted victories over the Reds in Europe - first for Galatasaray and then in OM's win at Anfield last season - admits to being concerned about the level of form the five-time European Cup winners achieved in beating the current champions on Saturday.

And Gerets is even more worried that Liverpool beat United without Torres and with captain Gerrard only involved for 20 minutes.

He said: "If I had been asked five days ago whether I was happy with Liverpool not having their best two players, it would have been a different answer to now.

"I love watching Premier League football played at that pace. I really enjoyed watching Liverpool's game with Manchester United.

"Liverpool are like the Duracell bunnies - they are an example to the rest of the world for the effort they put in. You just wind them up and off they go.''

He added: "Liverpool have a fantastic coach, a fantastic team. I know that Manchester United have cut their lead of titles (now 18-17 in the Merseysiders' favour) but I really hope that Liverpool win the Premier League, and somehow we survive in this group and end up playing them in the Champions League final.''

Skipper Lorik Cana, rested in Sunday's 1-1 draw at Bordeaux, will return in midfield, probably in place of Karim Ziani, while there is a worry over Hatem Ben Arfa who has a knee injury.