Rafael Benitez has said victory against Tottenham (Liverpool 11/8 draw 9/4 Tottenham 2/1 Premier League – match betting) at Anfield on Wednesday will give Liverpool renewed hope of a Premier League top-four finish.

The Reds trail their rivals for a coveted Champions League place (Tottenham 9/4 Without Big 4) by four points and will be missing influential trio Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Yossi Benayoun for the visit of Harry Redknapp’s men.

Under-fire manager Benitez was buoyed by the character shown by his players in the goalless draw at Stoke on Saturday.

The Anfield boss believes victory against the north Londoners will lift spirits on Merseyside and give his players confidence for a run at the top four.

“If we can win against Tottenham the fans will be happier and the race for fourth place will maybe be easier,” Benitez said.

“The main thing now is to improve and have more confidence and the only way to do that is by winning games.”

He added: “We want to win and if we can we will try to play well but when you don’t have confidence it is important to get the result each time.”