United vs Marseille Champions League Preview

Introduction

Manchester United go into the second leg of their crucial Champions League encounter with Marseille in fine spirit after Saturday's victory over rivals Arsenal in the FA Cup. The sense of optimism has been lifted still further with the sight of Nani back in training after the serious leg gash inflicted by Jamie Carragher along with Michael Carrick who was originally ruled out of Tuesday's tie.

United will be looking to build on the energy displayed against Arsenal in such a manner that Marseille struggle to cope. Second legs at Old Trafford under the lights are always special and the crowd will have a big part to play. The away team will surely look to frustrate United with three in a central midfield, so an early goal or at least early pressure will put Marseille on the back foot. They should not be underestimated as they have the best away form in Ligue 1 and are unbeaten in their last six away matches.

The Opposition

Olympique de Marseille, to give them their full title, were founded in 1899 and have won the French Ligue 1 title nine times in their history. Their defining moment came in 1993 when they became the first French winners of the Champions League defeating the might of AC Milan in the final after a goal by Basile Boli. That winning team contained such quality as Barthez, Desailly, Deschamps, Boksic, Abedi Pele and Rudi Voeller. Ironically in that final, one of their all time great players Jean-Pierre Papin came on as a sub for Milan after leaving for Italy a year earlier after a stunning record of 134 goals from 215 games.

L'OM's darkest hour came in 1994 when they were relegated to the second tier of French football following a match fixing scandal involving club president Bernard Tapie. Several players from opponents Valenciennes were instructed to let Marseille win and not to injure them ahead of the Champions League Final.

Marseille go into the game in fourth position in Ligue 1, just four points from leaders Lille. Since the first leg they have played three times. They lost at home against the leaders but significantly won both of their away fixtures. Interestingly in both of those games, Gabriel Heinze played at centre back with Mbia in a defensive midfield role which he is more comfortable in. Taiwo took over the Argentine's left back slot. Whichever position he is selected in, he will surely be targetted by United as a potential weak link as he is slow on the turn and often resorts to fouling his opponent.

They will be without leading striker Brandao who is back in France contesting a possible sexual assault charge following a late night encounter after a recent game.

In Friday's game against 2nd placed Rennes, L'OM came away with a confidence boosting 2-0 victory with goals from Remy and Gonzalez. The win was described as their most accomplished performance of 2011.

Tactics

Depending on the personnel available to Sir Alex Ferguson, I would expect United to go in to the game with a 4-3-3 formation with the emphasis on attack rather than a more defensive 4-5-1 that is often on show in away games. As ever, the Reds will look for a fast start and try to get Marseille on the back foot from the first whistle. This will help get the crowd involved and behind the team. Where once it was looking that the home side would be short in the wide areas, I would expect this to be a key area. Either of Nani or Valencia will play on the right and will be expected to run at the left back whether it is Heinze or Taiwo. With Scholes spraying balls wide similar to how he did in the home match with City, the effectiveness of our flank players will look to push their own attacking wide men back to help cover and thus stifle their threat on the counter.

With only one up front, it will be vital that support from midfield is forthcoming with perhaps Gibson the one encouraged to bomb forward when possible. It is perhaps viable that Rooney could play that role after adopting it on Saturday but this may leave us a little short with Scholes and Carrick from a defensive angle and with the thought of Anfield still fresh in the memory. The home team full backs will also look to play high up the pitch where possible supplementing the wide men. Vidic will pick up Gignac leaving Smalling to sweep up alongside. Do not be surprised to see the former Maidstone defender bringing the ball out of defence from time to time as he may find himself in space when a move breaks down.

United

With the news that Vidic's reason for missing training this morning was to get some treatment on a slight knock that will not keep him out, the only choice to be made is at right back. It would be easy to make a case for either John O'Shea or Rafael to be selected. The Irishman is solid, is in good form and never lets anyone down. The Brazilian played well in an advanced role on Saturday and is superior from an attacking sense but can be a touch impetuous in the tackle. It was hoped that lessons will have been learned from last year's exit to Bayern Munich when he was given two yellows but there have been signs that this maturity is still to fully develop. I will go for Rafael simply because of his attacking intent but would have no real problem if O'Shea gets the nod.

The likely fitness of Carrick is a big boost for the United midfield and I have gone for him alongside Scholes and Darron Gibson. Ideally I would like to see a 4-4-2 formation but I can see the extra man for safety as well as the tie is finely balanced. If we were behind then logically, a two man midfield makes sense. An away goal at any time could switch the balance towards Marseille at any time so the more defensive option is the one I have chosen. Valencia gave a wonderful, uplifting display in the second half against Arsenal but in my view it is asking a lot for him to repeat the feat just a few days later. With Nani seemingly fit to return, it makes sense for the Ecuadorian to bide his time on the bench before being unleashed mid way through the second half to get further minutes under his belt. For this reason, I would expect to see Giggs line up on the left.

Although cases could be made for Hernandez and Berbatov up front, I think that Rooney will be the one selected on his own. He is in form, back to scoring goals and looked much more like his old self against Arsenal. The sight of him controlling the ball following a long pass should bring confidence to the United faithful that his dark days are on the way to being banished as it shows the player himself regaining a talent that always seemed to come naturally in the past.

If an away goal is scored or additional firepower is required then a quick switch to 4-4-2 will occur with Berbatov for Gibson and Valencia for Giggs the likely replacements. The prospect of this front four should have fans excited as pace, skill and guile will all be in abundance and surely too powerful for our French opponents. The additional option of Hernandez and his clever, incisive movement means that if they can stay fit, they should ensure plenty of goals in the run in to the end of the season and almost certainly a piece or two of silverware.

Score Prediction

I am going to plump for a 2-0 home win for United. We must guard against complacency, Marseille are a decent side with a good away record and they must be respected. However, I think United's pace, power and intensity may surprise them a little and in the end the pressure will surely tell. Goals in either half from Rooney and Giggs will send United sailing through to the quarter finals. The only team I would wish to avoid would be Barcelona as it is my view that the best chance of success against them is in a one off game (like the final at Wembley). Ideally we would avoid English opponents also but facing either Chelsea or Spurs would not unduly concern me. The romantics among us will hope for the return to Manchester of Ronaldo with his Real Madrid team but they first must overcome last year's conquerors Lyon.

A second successive cup victory will certainly go a long way to restoring faith following the recent defeats to Chelsea and Liverpool. The return of key players is also timely and sets us up well for the challenges ahead as we look towards the climax of the season.

Please leave any comments below about possible team line up or score predictions and please follow me on Twitter after the game where you will get the chance to have your views listed in my review blog.