Puel is full of praise for the Liverpool supporters, however, who he believes will create a special night against Lille.

“It is an extraordinary atmosphere,” he said.

“A kind of mythical place, not to be missed.

“It is not hostile, there is a lot of fair play.

“What is amazing is that despite a difficult season for the team the fans are always behind them.”

Meanwhile, Ryan Babel has tipped Liverpool to progress to the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

The Dutchman believes the win over Portsmouth is just the boost needed to overcome Lille and provide more confidence ahead of Sunday’s trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United.

“I think we had a point to prove in terms of getting a result against Portsmouth,” he said.

“I don’t think the performance at Lille was as bad as some people think but here we definitely showed character and passion, and hopefully we can now look forward.

“If you can score an early goal then the confidence raises straight away.

“Then when a second comes everyone in the team feels confident and can play in a more relaxed way.

“It would definitely be nice to win at Old Trafford like last year.

“Hopefully Thursday will be good and then we’ll go to Old Trafford full of confidence.”