Rafa tipped for left-side switch

Rafa Benitez is expected to hand a return to Fabio Aurelio for the clash against Atletico Madrid, with Andrea Dossena set to miss out.

The Italian was given the nod ahead of the Brazilian for Saturday's Premier League defeat at Tottenham, but Aurelio should start at left-back for tonight's Champions League encounter.

Meanwhile, Benitez will make a late decision as to whether Fernando Torres will be fit enough to feature against his old club following his recent hamstring problem.

The manager revealed: "In a normal game, you would talk with a player, but in this game it is even more important that I talk to him because I'm sure that he will try and say 'Yes, I want to play'.

"We have to decide if he is 100% fit or not, but the main word will be the player's."

Benitez added: "Sometimes the players can be desperate to play, so you have to be careful, but in this case, I think that he has some experience. I will talk with him and see how he feels."