The fantastic recent run of results continued last night thanks to Olympiacos’ last minute winner but I’m hoping things are a little more comfortable in Switzerland on Wednesday.
We saw on Tuesday that French teams should not be underestimated in the Champions League this season when Lyon were victorious at Anfield and their Ligue 1 rivals Marseille are expected to triumph 24 hours later. They face FC Zurich and know that anything less than three points will leave them hugely up against it.
An opening night defeat to AC Milan at Stade Velodrome made things harder than expected for Didier Deschamps and his side in Group C and if they are to have any realistic chance of progressing to the last 16 then they must win in the Swiss capital.
Marseille’s opponents on Wednesday surprised the whole of Europe when Hannu Tihinen grabbed the only goal at the San Siro last time out but I’m grateful for their heroics that night; Marseille are surely more like 1.70 shots rather than the freely available 2.00 on offer.
Real Madrid, while quite obviously in a different league to the French club, bagged five when triumphing on Matchday 1 at Letzigrund and an early goal for the visitors could well open the floodgates.
Marseille pushed Bordeaux all the way domestically last season, when finishing runners-up, but the 1993 winners are keen to make their mark in Europe once more and with Deschamps at the helm they fully expect to make the knockout stages.
That will be easier said than done, especially in such a tough group, but the likes of Brandao and Mamadou Niang have more than enough about them to cause any side problems going forward and Marseille also look strong at the back despite conceding five in their opening two matches.
Under coach Bernard Challandes Wednesday’s hosts did terrifically well to qualify for the Champions League group stages but I’m certainly of the opinion that their unexpected win in Northern Italy was the exception rather than the rule. They were awful defensively against Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and co in front of their own fans and are in disarray in the Swiss top flight.
Just four wins in 12 matches sees FC Zurich 16 points adrift already of current leaders Young Boys and a 3-2 defeat at lowly Bellinzona last time out will hardly have boosted confidence levels. Marseille are a step up from that calibre of opposition and, while Deschamps’ men have been poor on their travels in Europe in recent times, this represents a significant drop in class and one in which I expect them to take full advantage.
1pt Back Marseille (vs. FC Zurich) @ 2.00 (various)