Marseille vs Arsenal - UEFA Champions League

Marseille vs Arsenal
UEFA Champions League, group F 3rd matchday
Date : 19. October 2011
Stadium : Stade Vélodrome, Marseille

Marseille are in pole position in Champions League Group F thanks to wins out of two over Olympiacos and Borussia Dortmund. With four goals scored and none conceded, the French side form stands in contrast to a horrific Ligue 1 run that sees the side in 15th place with nine points after ten matches.

Deschamps' men drawn three of their last four in all competitions and 60% of all league games this season. They have played three clubs in the top five and lost each time, their sole victory coming against Evian, placed 17th.

Arsenal secured a 1-1 draw in their opening Champions League fixture away at Borussia Dortmund, and then followed that up with a 2-1 home win against Olympiacos. The Gunners go into the match on the back of a 2-1 win over Sunderland at the Emirates in the league on Sunday, a game again, in which their defence looked anything but solid. Van Persie scored two goals against the Black Cats and inevitably paved the way towards the resurfacing rumours that envisioned the Dutchman’s future away from the Emirates stadium.

Their visit to southern France won't be a walk in the park on the basis that Marseille came alive three weeks ago when beating Borussia Dortmund 3-0 and Arsenal team will miss some key players. The performance of Didier Deschamps’ team in the win over German champions Borussia Dortmund though shows that they can stun the English side.

Arsenal's injury problems deepened recently. Thomas Vermaelen and Bacary Sagna are currently out. Kieran Gibbs and Aaron Ramsey joined the club's lengthy absentee list. Laurent Koscielny and Johan Djourou have only just come back from injury, while Per Mertesacker, Carl Jenkinson and Santos have all looked poor at times this year.

As for Marseille, although they have been quite stable so far, the absence of Rod Fanni, who is suspended, leaves them a little vulnerable on the right side. Other absentees include Jordan Ayew, who is also serving a suspension and Djimi Traore and Stephane Mbia, both of whom are out with injuries.

Arsenal failed to secure top spot in last year’s tournament in the group stage, and paid the price with an early meeting against Barcelona in the knock-outs. So winning the group is vitally important if they are to keep their heads above water. A massive boost for Arsenal, however, will be the return of manager Arsene Wenger to the sidelines after he finished serving the suspension imposed on him by UEFA. Furthermore, Arsenal have a W4 D3 L0 record in France.

Recent Performance :
Marseille : Draw / Draw / Win / Draw / Win
Arsenal : Win / Lose / Win / Win / Win

Possible Line-Ups :
Marseille : Mandanda - Morel, N’Koulou, Diawara, Azpilicueta, Diarra, Kabore, Gonzalez, Ayew, Remy, Valbuena.
Arsenal : Szczesny - Santos, Jenkinson, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Song, Arteta, Walcott, Gervinho, Arshavin, Van Persie.

Betting Tip/Prediction :
Our predict for this game is a draw