Marseille

The position became vacant after Spanish tactician Rafael Benitez finally ended his six-year reign at Anfield to take over from the departed Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan.

Several names were linked with the Liverpool hot-seat and even former Reds great Kenny Dalglish revealed that he was keen to have another crack at the whip, having led the club to glory between 1985 and 1991.

But Anfield officials opted to bring Roy Hodgson from Fulham and the much-travelled manager was charged with the task of trying to get the once-great club back into the upper echelons of English football (Liverpool 80/1 – Premier League outright).

Deschamps enjoyed considerable success as a player with Marseille, Juventus and a one-year spell at Chelsea, and he has slipped seamlessly into management, taking charge of Monaco, Juventus and now Marseille.

But he could have been managing in the Premier League this season after revealing that he held long discussions with the Liverpool board before deciding to show loyalty to his current employers.

“I am very proud that a club of the standing of Liverpool showed interest in me this summer,” he said. “But, to be fair, it wasn’t good timing. I had just started pre-season training with Marseille.

“I don’t think the fans or the club officials would have been very pleased if after two days back I was looking to join another club.”

Deschamps took over at Marseille in 2009 and promptly steered the club to their first title in the French top flight in 18 years.

The Stade Velodrome outfit have enjoyed a steady start to the defence of their title and currently sit in sixth place in Ligue with 11 points from their first seven matches.

They have already conceded nine goals this term and will doubtless come under intense pressure from a Chelsea side full of confidence, despite the weekend blip against Manchester City.

The Blues have become almost unbeatable at home, but will not have inspirational striker Didier Drogba in their ranks, as he sits out the final match of a two-game ban.

Frank Lampard and Yossi Benayoun are still out but Ashley Cole returns after being rested for the 4-1 win over MSK Zilina.

The French outfit have yet to pick up a point in the Champions League this season, with a 1-0 reverse to Spartak Moscow in their opener but, having played at Stamford Bridge during an illustrious career, Deschamps knows his difficult it will be for his side to come away from west London with anything to show for the efforts on Tuesday night.

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