The Anfield club's co-owner has made a surprise decision to be
at the Stade Velodrome to see for himself whether Liverpool can
pull off the great escape and force their way into the last
16.
Gillett and Tom Hicks were not expected on this side of the
Atlantic until later in the week for their much-heralded meeting
with boss Rafael Benitez, following the fall-out over the new
American owners' transfer policy.
The pair were due to be on Merseyside at the weekend for the
Barclays Premier League clash with Manchester United, but Gillett
will now have the chance for a low-key chat with Benitez in the
south of France first.
Gillett will hope to witness Liverpool's third successive group
victory, this time against the French side, which will ensure a
remarkable qualification for the knock-out stages few expected
after the Reds' dreadful start to the campaign.
That included a 1-0 defeat by Marseille at Anfield in October, a
result that eventually plunged Benitez and the club into a crisis
few could have predicted, with the manager's own position under
threat.
There has been a considerable thaw in the relationship between
owners and manager of late, brokered by chief executive Rick Parry
and Gillett's son Foster, who has been installed to work alongside
Parry at the club.
Victory in Marseille would make serious talks later in the week far
more convivial.
And Benitez is fully aware of the task against the French.
Impressive home wins over Besiktas and Porto were largely expected,
but a victory in Marseille in a winner-takes-all clash is a totally
different matter.
The game has been reduced to a straight knock-out cup tie with the
winners sure of progression to the last 16.
Marseille's boss Eric Gerets has spelt out how his own side will
approach the dramatic tie.
He said: "We will fight to the death to get into the next
round.
"We know Liverpool must win too, but our victory at Anfield was a
big blow for them and it also shows that we can beat them.
"We really have not played any bad matches in the competition, any
we have lost have been because of positional or individual mistakes
by young players. Generally we have done well in this group."
The group is finely balanced with all four clubs having a chance of
qualifying.
Porto and Besiktas clash in the Dragao Stadium at the same time on
what will be a nail-biting night.
The odds favour the French club reaching the next stage because a
draw, coupled with a Porto win, would send Marseille through due to
their victory at Anfield on October 3.
If Besiktas triumph in Portugal then a draw would be enough for
Liverpool. Then the Turkish side would finish as winners of the
group while Porto, Liverpool and Marseille would all have eight
points with the English side progressing by virtue of their
superior record against the other two teams.
That would be a heavy blow to the French who must have thought they
had the edge over the Merseysiders after that win at Anfield in
Gerets' first game in charge, thanks to a Mathieu Valbuena strike
13 minutes from time.
It was their second successive victory and gave them top spot in
the section.
However, since then Marseille have gained only one point - at home
to Porto - and have lost their last two games at Porto and Besiktas
by the same 2-1 score.
Benitez will attempt to send out a calm, controlled Liverpool for
the vital tie.
He has a showdown with Manchester United in the league five days
later, and a Carling Cup tie at Chelsea the following week.
Clearly a make-or-break spell for manager and club, but Benitez
believes his players can handle the situation.
He said: "The players have experience of playing several important
competitions at the same time so they will know how to handle this,
they can do it.
"What is important is that we approach every game knowing we are
playing well, we have confidence and then you only think about the
next game when you have won the first one."
Benitez is hoping that Danish defender Daniel Agger will be back
from a metatarsal injury to contest a centre-back role with Sami
Hyypia, while Fabio Aurelio and Xabi Alonso are also in
contention.
Team Talk
