Houllier welcomes Gerrard in from cold but warns Dudek

Uefa Cup: Liverpool set to reinstate England midfielder at Arnhem while Celtic entertain formidable Spanish opposition

Liverpool may well feel that after the dazzle of the Champions' League comes the relative drudgery of the Uefa Cup, but Steven Gerrard will not see things that way as he attempts to reclaim his starting place in their line-up at Vitesse Arnhem tonight.

With Sunday's Premiership encounter with Manchester United probably looming larger in the mind of Gérard Houllier, the Liverpool manager will hope that his out-of-form England midfielder can use tonight's third round first-leg match to recapture both his touch and his first-team place.

Gerrard was dropped and publicly criticised for his form and approach by Houllier following Liverpool's Champions' League exit in Basle, but the Frenchman yesterday indicated that his dissatisfaction had abated for the time being.

"His work-rate, his success rate in tackles, runs and passing has been much higher in training recently. He will be up for the game," Houllier said. "There were a few things he knew he had to improve on, but he's only 22, you have to be indulgent with some players. Like us, he went through a bad patch. But he's fine, I'm pleased with him and the good Steven Gerrard is back. We missed him and we are happy that he is back."

Houllier was less expansive about the goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek as he prepares for a game against a Vitesse team who are are languishing in the bottom half of the Dutch league and are now tenants in their own stunning stadium because of financial troubles.

"Jerzy is a great goalkeeper. He is, like us, going through a difficult period – but he has got to overcome that," Houllier said. "He's the first one to admit he had a poor game against Fulham. I still have confidence in him, as I do with all my players, but I have a squad that can cope with this. You have to be strong and accept competition, but that is as far as I will go with this situation at the moment."

Houllier will make a late decision on the fitness of the Swiss defender Stéphane Henchoz, who has not played a competitive game for two months since a calf operation.