Introduction
Manchester United resume their Champions League campaign on Wednesday night when they take on Olympique de Marseille in the first leg of the First Knockout Round in the Stade Velodrome. The Reds will be looking to banish memories of their poor display on Saturday against non-league Crawley although precious few of the starting line up will be in action in the South of France. An away goal will be the aim to help set them up for the crucial second leg to come at Old Trafford. Didier Deschamps' men should not be underestimated in what will be an intimidating atmosphere. They have already beaten Chelsea in the group stages of the Champions League this season and sit well placed in Ligue 1.
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.
They currently sit 3rd in Ligue 1, trailing leaders Lille by just three points. This season's home record includes seven wins and four draws from their twelve games. Their solitary defeat came against newly promoted Caen on the opening day of the season.
This year's Champions League campaign got off to a disastrous start with defeats in their opening two games (at home to Spartak Moscow and away to Chelsea) but four straight wins without conceding and scoring twelve saw them safely into the knockout phase below Chelsea.
Random Marseille facts:
- This is the third match in history between the two clubs.
- Both teams have one win apiece after meeting in the group stage in 1999/2000
- William Gallas scored the winning goal for L'OM in their home leg
- André-Pierre Gignac is their top scorer with 8, Lucho Gonzalez and Loic Remy have 7.
- Marseille is the birthplace of Eric Cantona who played 40 times for the club between 1988 and 1991 and also had loan spells at Bordeaux and Montpellier during this time.
- L'OM have not reached the last eight of the Champions League since they won the competition in 1993
- Former great Abedi Pele has two sons who play for Marseille - Andre and Jordan Ayew.
Formation and team selection
Marseille play a 4-3-3 formation which United will surely look to match in the away leg. The good news is that leading scorer Gignac will be missing after picking up a groin injury that will sideline him for a couple of weeks. Remy and Brandao were also substituted in their weekend game against St Etienne but both are expected to play.
It is possible that L'OM could play both defensive midfielders on Wednesday in former Hammer Edouard Cisse and Charles Kabore who hails from Burkina Faso. A definite starter in the midfield three will be Lucho Gonzalez who is their play-maker.
United's front line on the night will be faced with a familiar foe in ex Red Gabriel Heinze. The Argentinian left Old Trafford under a cloud after trying to force through a move to Liverpool. The former crowd favourite has played both centre and left back for L'OM this season and must be seen as a potential weak link as age starts to catch up with him.
Key Player - Lucho Gonzalez
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| L'OM dangerman |
The 30 year old Argentinian was signed from Porto in June 2009 for a fee of €18million. He has played 44 times since then and has scored 9 goals. He is well know for his work rate, good passing skills and possession of a powerful shot.
He played in each of Marseille's six Champions League games to date this season, contributing two goals and one assist.
He has been capped by his national team on 43 occasions, the last coming in 2007. He was a member of the 2006 World Cup squad that went out to hosts Germany in the Quarter Finals.
United
Following news this morning of the full squad that will fly to the south of France, the United team almost picks itself. Giggs, Anderson, Ferdinand, Evans and Owen all failed to make the trip but there was the welcome sight of youngsters King and Tunnicliffe travelling and with a real chance of making the bench.
I would expect O'Shea to play at right back although Wes Brown did his chances no harm with a solid performance on Saturday albeit in a central role. The Da Silva twins are both available but after coming off early against Crawley will probably have to settle for a place on the bench at best. Chris Smalling will be stationed alongside his captain and will look to build on his composed performance against City.
As mentioned earlier, MarseilleScholes, Carrick and Fletcher almost pick themselves with Gibson and Tunnicliffe as back-up. These three will look to control the central battlefield with Scholes as quarterback and Fletcher the most likely to try to break into the box with late runs. The Scotsman has had a mixed season and it would be good to see him deliver an all action, energetic display in one of the most important games of the season. Keeping the ball in a tough away environment will be key and it is hoped that this experienced trio can step up and see United through to an acceptable result ahead of the second leg at Old Trafford.
The front three almost certainly will be Rooney, Nani and Berbatov. Whilst the role on the left flank will not suit the Englishman, he will undoubtedly work hard to not only assist the attack but also give some support to Patrice Evra from a defensive point of view. Berbatov will need to hold the ball up and look to bring others into play as otherwise the home side will dominate the possession and territory statistics. Nani looks to be the primary creative spark in a workmanlike line up for United. He will no doubt be nominated by the opposition as key to our attacking hopes and may well end up having two men watching him closely. He must ensure that he does not react to any intimidation whilst making the most of any opportunity to run at the Marseille defence.
Following news this morning of the full squad that will fly to the south of France, the United team almost picks itself. Giggs, Anderson, Ferdinand, Evans and Owen all failed to make the trip but there was the welcome sight of youngsters King and Tunnicliffe travelling and with a real chance of making the bench.
I would expect O'Shea to play at right back although Wes Brown did his chances no harm with a solid performance on Saturday albeit in a central role. The Da Silva twins are both available but after coming off early against Crawley will probably have to settle for a place on the bench at best. Chris Smalling will be stationed alongside his captain and will look to build on his composed performance against City.
As mentioned earlier, MarseilleScholes, Carrick and Fletcher almost pick themselves with Gibson and Tunnicliffe as back-up. These three will look to control the central battlefield with Scholes as quarterback and Fletcher the most likely to try to break into the box with late runs. The Scotsman has had a mixed season and it would be good to see him deliver an all action, energetic display in one of the most important games of the season. Keeping the ball in a tough away environment will be key and it is hoped that this experienced trio can step up and see United through to an acceptable result ahead of the second leg at Old Trafford.
The front three almost certainly will be Rooney, Nani and Berbatov. Whilst the role on the left flank will not suit the Englishman, he will undoubtedly work hard to not only assist the attack but also give some support to Patrice Evra from a defensive point of view. Berbatov will need to hold the ball up and look to bring others into play as otherwise the home side will dominate the possession and territory statistics. Nani looks to be the primary creative spark in a workmanlike line up for United. He will no doubt be nominated by the opposition as key to our attacking hopes and may well end up having two men watching him closely. He must ensure that he does not react to any intimidation whilst making the most of any opportunity to run at the Marseille defence.
Score Prediction
With all the absentees and considering the high stakes, I am going to go for a hard fought 1-1 draw which would be more than acceptable at the Stade Velodrome. I would expect it to be a tight match with chances at a minimum. It could be that our best chance for a goal will come from a free kick or corner which is why I will plump for a goal from Chris Smalling to cancel out a home team strike mid way through the second half. Whilst a clean sheet would be a great achievement, scoring a vital away goal could prove the key to the tie in the second leg. A scoreless draw is a decent result for a home team in the first leg and this result must be a distinct possibility looking at our poor performances in away games this season.
Please leave any comments below or contact me on Twitter
With all the absentees and considering the high stakes, I am going to go for a hard fought 1-1 draw which would be more than acceptable at the Stade Velodrome. I would expect it to be a tight match with chances at a minimum. It could be that our best chance for a goal will come from a free kick or corner which is why I will plump for a goal from Chris Smalling to cancel out a home team strike mid way through the second half. Whilst a clean sheet would be a great achievement, scoring a vital away goal could prove the key to the tie in the second leg. A scoreless draw is a decent result for a home team in the first leg and this result must be a distinct possibility looking at our poor performances in away games this season.
Please leave any comments below or contact me on Twitter
Good work mate :) i also agree with your prediction of a 1-1 draw which would suit us for the second leg at OT.I hope our midfield trio has a great game tonite which can easily put the tie in our favour, cheers! :)
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