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Group F sees French Ligue une champions Olympique de Marseille welcome their English counterparts Chelsea to the Stade Velodrome on Wednesday, with both teams assured of their place in the last 16 of the competition. The two teams will be looking to find some form after a spate of disappointing results has seen them relinquish their grasp at the summit of their respective domestic leagues. A dead rubber clash no doubt, but expect a feisty contest as Didier Drogba returns to his old stomping ground.
Marseille also looking to bounce back from the last weekend’s poor result at Nice which saw the league leaders in French Ligue 1 suffering a surprise defeat. So both sides will be looking to avoid further slip-ups. It will be also a memorable night for the former Marseille striker Didier Drogba who returns to the place which he left about six years ago. The Marseille coach wishes Drogba to return to the club before his retirement from football.
Olympique de Marseille
An ignominious start to their European campaign which saw them lose to Spartak Moskva has been followed up with some resplendent results, not least against minnows Zilina whom they thrashed 7-0. Domestically, Marseille’s form has been reasonably good until recently where a couple of unsatisfactory results have seen them lose ground on league leaders Lille. The dip in form was evident in their performance against Nice during the weekend, where a mixture of sloppy finishing and a lack of creativity in midfield conspired and colluded in their downfall against a resolute, if not fortunate Nice side. Benoit Cheyrou and Mathieu Valbuena have been their stand out performers this season and are expected to feature against a stuttering Chelsea side. But Head Coach Didier Deschamps is certain to rest some key players to ensure an injury-free run of preparation for their crunch clash against title challengers Olympique Lyonnais. On the injury front, César Azpilicueta is expected to be out for the rest of the season after sustaining a knee ligament injury during his side’s 4-0 victory against Montpellier Hérault SC, while André-Pierre Gignac is also expected to sit out the tie with a thigh strain.
The French team beat out the likes of Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain last season to clinch the Ligue 1 title and should not be underestimated at any cost. As the only French team to have won the Champions League thus far, expect Marseille’s history in the competition tempered with the amelioration of players with youth and experience under the stewardship of Didier Deschamps, to provide stiff competition to Chelsea as well as other European heavyweights in the knockout round of the Champions League.
Chelsea
The Blues have breezed through their group with minimal resistance and will be counting on Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka to provide the cutting edge in front of goal, although an inclusion of the speedy, young striker, Daniel Sturridge seems probable.
The English Champions have suffered a dismal few weeks domestically which was capped off by a disappointing draw against Everton at Stamford Bridge this weekend. Their season has been mired uncharacteristically by defensive lapses, precipitated by the absence of both John Terry and Frank Lampard through injury. The Blues will be able to recall their talismanic captain for the fixture, but are expected to rest him with an eye on the weekend which sees them travel to White Hart Lane to face a potent Spurs attack. Chelsea can also bank on the defensive steel of Branislav Ivanovic who has been in supreme form for most of the season and has been a constant aerial threat in the opposing penalty area.
The tumult surrounding Stamford Bridge, which has heard murmurs of the dismissal of Carlo Ancelotti can be placated with a good result against the French team. An impressive result, aside from providing some much needed impetus to his side could buy Ancelotti enough time till January, at which point he could plunge into the transfer market and bolster his team’s ranks and title credentials.
Marseille lost to Nice during the weekend, largely due to the profligacy of their strikers. Didier Deschamps will not like to lose two in a row. Expect Loic Remy to start, and Mathieu Valbuena to make way and a whole other raft of changes, but they will definitely not roll over and let Chelsea run riot. Former Manchester United defender Gabriel Heinze should slot into the defence in place of Taye Ismaila Taiwo while Brandao, though unconvincing against Nice might feature against the English Champions.
Chelsea FC (4-3-3): Petr Cech (GK), Jose Bosingwa, Paulo Ferreira, Branislav Ivanovic, Ashley Cole, Jon Obi Mikel, Essien, Florent Malouda, Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, Daniel Sturridge
A disappointing run of results domestically, will ensure Carlo Ancelotti fields a strong side against the Champions of France. John Terry will probably be rested and a few of the squad players like Joshua MacEachren and Gael Kakuta could feature for the Blues. Jon Obi Mikel will play sweeper while the trinity of Drogba, Anelka and Sturridge will rely on the support offered by Florent Malouda and Ramires to unlock the Marseille rearguard. Expect Ancelotti not to take too many risks with the starting lineup especially against a crafty adversary like Deschamps.Chelsea John Terry returned from a sciatic nerve problem on Saturday but Frank Lampard remains sidelined following a hernia operation at the end of August. Alex (knee surgery) and Yossi Benayoun (torn Achilles tendon) are long-term absentees while Yuri Zhirkov has been out since mid-November with a calf injury. Nicolas Anelka and Ashley Cole are rested.
Prediction: Both teams will wish to finish the game with their pride and discipline in tact. While it is undoubtedly an option to field slightly weakened sides as they have both been assured their places in the knockout round of the Champions League, the teams could really use the momentum that comes from a big win and hence there is every incentive to go all out on Wednesday night. Didier Drogba will undoubtedly be looking forward to his much anticipated return to the Velodrome and could turn in a sparkling performance. But expect it to be a patchy game with both teams ‘parking the bus’ in front of goal, but if one team had to be favorites, it would be Chelsea.
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