Andre Villas-Boas takes his Spurs team to Rome to face Lazio on Thursday targeting the victory that will guarantee they qualify from their Europa League group.
Lazio are top of the group and a draw for Spurs in Rome and then a win in the final game against Greek side Panathinaikos would be good enough for Villas-Boas' men too.
But Villas-Boas - who won the tournament two years ago with Porto - does not want to leave it until the final match.
"It's all about this game," said Villas-Boas. "It will be important for us to win and qualify. It will give the squad an important feeling of beating a great team away from home."
Paul Gascoigne, a hero to both sets of fans, will be guest of honour at the match.
Gascoigne became a cult hero at Spurs after four successful years at White Hart Lane and he then went on to achieve similar status at Lazio after moving to the Italian capital in 1992.
Gascoigne will defy his fear of flying to make the game, when he is expected to be paraded on the pitch where he won a place in the Biancocelesti fans' hearts by scoring a late winner in the Rome derby during his first season at the club.
Spurs defender Steven Caulker is a big admirer of 'Gazza'.
He said: "He is a Spurs and England legend. He was a fantastic footballer. As a football fan, him coming to the game is extremely special and there are a lot of footballers here who want to be just as good as he was."
Benitez replaces Roberto Di Matteo, who was sacked on Wednesday morning following Chelsea's disappointing 3-0 defeat at Juventus which leaves them on the brink of being knocked out of the Champions League.
Former Liverpool boss Benitez cut short an engagement in the Middle East to fly to London for talks and he has been appointed as "interim" manager until the end of the current campaign.
A statement on the club's website said: "Chelsea Football Club can confirm Rafael Benitez has been appointed interim first-team manager until the end of the season.
"The owner and the Board believe that in Benitez we have a manager with significant experience at the highest level of football, who can come in and immediately help deliver our objectives.
"The 52-year-old Spaniard is due to meet the players at the training ground in Cobham tomorrow (Thursday).
"The two-time UEFA Manager of the Year comes with outstanding pedigree. He began his managerial career in his homeland, most notably at Valencia where he built a reputation as one of Europe's top coaches by winning the Spanish League twice and the UEFA Cup.
"He then spent six years at Liverpool and led them to their fifth European Cup and an FA Cup."
The Spaniard becomes the ninth manager under Russian owner Abramovich.
An extraordinary 24 hours started with Di Matteo axeing Fernando Torres from his starting XI in Turin.
Di Matteo was then fired on Wednesday morning, with Benitez appointed in the early evening.
And the new man will now be reunited with Torres, the striker he turned into a ?50m player at Anfield.
