HE’S been here before, of course. But the problem for Rafael Benitez tonight is the echoes of the past may not be loud enough.

Two years ago, Liverpool travelled for a crucial Champions League group clash in France with qualification hopes hanging by a thread and the manager standing perilously close to the Anfield abyss.

They went into the game on the back of a 3-1 away Premier League defeat, with questions asked about Benitez’s decision to substitute both Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard with the result still retrievable.

As Jurgen Klinsmann waited in the wings and American co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks sweated over the loss of lucrative income, it was an encounter the Spaniard needed to win.

Marseille were comprehensively vanquished 4-0 as Benitez stepped back from the brink.

And now, with a throbbing sense of déjà vu, Liverpool have journeyed across the Channel charged with a similar task in similar circumstances – albeit with some worrying differences.

Benitez has often been referred to as a lucky manager, but the fates have conspired against him in recent weeks.

There will be no Gerrard leading the team out at Lyon’s Stade de Gerland this evening, the skipper joining the likes of Glen Johnson, Fabio Aurelio and Martin Skrtel on an ever-increasing injury list.

Torres will mercifully be present, but in what state? While a goalscorer in both the recent win over Manchester United and Saturday’s defeat at Fulham, the forward has not played a full 90 minutes since October 4.

Fears of an eventual hernia operation persist, but as long as Torres is on the pitch, even when visibly less than fully fit, Liverpool will retain hope of the victory they must earn to realistically keep alive their hopes of progress from Group E.

The striker isn’t the only member of the squad being nursed into action, the sight of Daniel Agger spending much of yesterday’s flight to Lyon standing in the aisle highlighting the recurring back problem that sidelined him at the weekend.

Such injuries, and Liverpool’s poor form, have added weight to the argument the strength of Benitez’s squad is found wanting in comparison to their main rivals.

So much so that, with Johnson and young Martin Kelly both injured and Philipp Degen ineligible, Jamie Carragher is likely to reprise his previous role of emergency right-back.

“What has happened recently has drawn us together,” says Dirk Kuyt, Liverpool’s lucky charm in the Champions League. “This is a time when we as a team, the players, the coaches, the physios, everyone has to work really hard to get good results.

“We showed that against Man United, unfortunately it didn’t happen against Fulham. We have the confidence we can give the same performance we did against Man United to have a good result tomorrow.

“It’s always difficult when you miss top quality players. We have to do it with the players we have.

“We still have a very good team with very good players. We believe as a team we are good enough to beat Lyon. We can always talk about ifs and buts, we have to do it with this squad now.”

Europe has often provided refuge from domestic difficulties for Benitez, from his debut season when Champions League glory in Istanbul was the antidote to a sickly Premier League campaign.

But failure to win this evening would remove that safety net, leave Liverpool contemplating the Europa League in the New Year, and exacerbate current shortcomings.