Benfica hordes do not scare Dernis

Attendance record
Lille set a new attendance record for a French club playing at home in Europe in their previous game, with the visit of Manchester United FC attracting 66,470 supporters. That figure is expected to be comfortably surpassed when hordes of Benfica fans - many of whom are Portuguese immigrants living in France - descend on Saint-Denis.

'We're not worried'
The unusually large away support is bound to give the visitors a boost, but Dernis believes it will also have a positive affect on Lille. "We know there'll be a lot of Portuguese but we're not worried about that," he told uefa.com. "When it was announced that we were going to play at the Stade de France everybody said we'd be playing in front of empty stands. We all hoped they'd be wrong and they were. The atmosphere against United was magnificent and now I can't wait for the Benfica game. Hopefully we'll put on a great show."

Confidence boost
The closeness of the group will also add to the occasion. Lille's triumph against United saw them leap into second place, a point ahead of tonight's opponents. Importantly it also gave them an injection of confidence - something that was lacking during their opening-day defeat against Benfica.

'Better equipped'
"Most of us were making our debuts in the competition in Lisbon," Dernis pointed out. "We were all apprehensive and it showed in the performance, but the more games we've played the more comfortable we've become, and we'll be better equipped to win when they come to Paris. "

Constant menace
Dernis started on the left flank in the Estádio da Luz, before being demoted to the bench for the next two games. Both ended in goalless stalemates, and Claude Puel restored the diminutive winger against United as he reverted to a more attacking 4-4-2 formation. The move had the desired affect. The 24-year-old was a constant menace, delivering a stream of quality crosses and striving to get in the penalty area at every opportunity. Lille's first goal of the campaign duly arrived when a neat move down the left set up Milenko Ačimovič to score.

Career highlight
Dernis hopes his vibrant display will help him earn an extended run. "The United game was one of the highlights of my career," he said. "I loved every minute of it and hopefully I scored some points with my performance. I'm a midfield player who likes to get forward and that's maybe why the coach brought me back. We'd had so many problems scoring in the UEFA Champions League, but against United we went for it from the start. Now we've one goal hopefully the floodgates will open."

Youth product
Like so many Lille players, Dernis is a product of the club's youth academy. They possess one of the youngest squads in the competition but have already won a lot of admirers through their battling displays. "No one gave us much hope of progressing but we've worked hard and obtained some outstanding results," Dernis said. "It's been a great experience so far. And now we're starting to really enjoy ourselves, we want to keep going for as long as possible." A victory tonight may well see the adventure extended into next year.