Misfit Marlet out of tune with Marseille

"It is tough to judge Steve," Anigo added. "He has only been back a month after his injury and hasn't been 100 per cent until now.

"We have 11 league games left and the UEFA cup also has a reputation for saving seasons, so we shall see."

Marlet's future could ultimately depend on whether Marseille qualify for the Champions League. They are sixth in the French League, eight points adrift of a Champions League spot. If they don't make it, there is little chance of them being able to meet Fulham's asking price.

Marlet kept his counsel after training at Anfield last night with his team-mates, who include former Manchester United goalkeeper Fabien Barthez. But he said before leaving France that he hoped for an explosive end of season to persuade Marseille to keep him. "I haven't shown all my potential yet, I know that," he said.

Marlet's transfer to Fulham was the subject of a bitter court case with Fulham initially refusing to pay £3.3m of the fee to his previous club Lyon.

His indifferent season cost him a place in the last France squad and he has been also been largely ignored by Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier, who singled out Didier Drogba as the main threat tonight.

Drogba has got 22 goals this season and Houllier said: "He is one of the best goalscorers in the whole of France. We must be very aware of him."

Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy claims he was hugely impressed by 26-year-old Drogba when he saw him in Champions League action earlierin the season. He said: "I watched Marseille on TV against Partizan Belgrade. "They won 3-0 and Drogba scored a hat-trick. He looks a real danger, a really good player. He will be a handful and we will have to keep a tight hold on him."

Houllier admits he is to looking forward to facing a top club from his own country and he wants Liverpool's fans to be make their presence felt. He said: "It will mean a lot to me to achieve a win over a French club. But I must ask for the fans help here. When we go to Marseille to play the second leg, the fans there will be something special. I hope that our fans can give Marseille's players a taste of what their fans will give to our team."

Liverpool will be without Anthony Le Tallec, who injured an ankle playing for their reserves this week, but should have Florent Sinama-Pongolle back.