MX23RW : Sunday, November 24 16:54:07| >> :60:1466:1466:
[monks data]
Marseille
Champions League | Group Stage
Sep 18, 2013 at 7.45pm UK
 
Arsenal logo

1-2

Ayew (93')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Walcott (64'), Ramsey (84')

Preview: Marseille vs. Arsenal

Sports Mole previews Arsenal's Champions League trip to Marseille on Wednesday.

Arsenal will attempt to open their Champions League Group F campaign with three points when they travel to French outfit Marseille on Wednesday.

The Gunners drew the short straw when the group stages were announced with Arsene Wenger's side drawn alongside Marseille, Napoli and Borussia Dortmund.

Marseille, who did not feature in last season's competition, will enter the match full of confidence following a positive start to their league season, with 10 points from five games leaving them in fourth position in the table.

Meanwhile, Arsenal lost on the opening weekend of the season against Aston Villa, but have since recovered with wins over Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland. They also booked their spot in the group stages of the Champions League with a 6-1 aggregate success over Fenerbahce in the playoffs.

The Premier League outfit have also enjoyed recent success in Marseille, with a 1-0 win in the group stages of the 2011-12 campaign. However, the French side did claim a point in a 0-0 draw in London at the beginning of November 2011.

The hosts have no fresh injury concerns ahead of the match and could name the same lineup that drew with Toulouse in the league at the weekend. However, Jordan Ayew and Saber Khlifa are both pushing for recalls.

Mathieu Valbuena will once more occupy a wide area for the French outfit, while former Premier League target Andre-Pierre Gignac is expected to lead their line.

Arsenal, however, will be without the services of Santi Cazorla, who has been ruled out of action until October with an ankle problem. The Gunners are also sweating on the fitness of Olivier Giroud, but the in-form striker should be fit to lead the line.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky remain on the sidelines, but German defender Per Mertesacker should be fit to return to the centre of the defence after missing the trip to Sunderland through illness.

Recent form

Marseille: WWWLD

Arsenal: WWWWW

Possible starting lineups

Marseille: Mandanda; N'Koulou, Lucas, Morel, Fanni; Thauvin, Romao, Wanga, Valbuena; Gignac, Payet

Arsenal: Szczesny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs; Ramsey, Wilshere, Flamini; Ozil, Giroud, Walcott

Sports Mole says: 1-2


ID:105207: cacheID:105207:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4926:No Data Analysis info

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Mesut Ozil of Real Madrid attacks during the pre season friendly match between Bournemouth and Real Madrid at Goldsands Stadium on July 21, 2013
Read Next:
Ozil's Arsenal debut in doubt?
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
6pm
Vikings
@
Bears
6pm
Lions
@
Colts
6pm
Patriots
@
Dolphins
6pm
Buccaneers
@
Giants
6pm
Chiefs
@
Panthers
6pm
Titans
@
Texans
6pm
Cowboys
@
Washington
9.05pm
Broncos
@
Raiders
9.25pm
49ers
@
Packers
9.25pm
Cardinals
@
Seahawks
Tables header RHS

League Phase

TeamPWDLPTS
1Liverpool440012
2Sporting Lisbon431010
3Brest431010
4Inter Milan431010
5Monaco431010
6Barcelona43019
7Dortmund43019
8Aston Villa43019
9Atalanta42208
10Juventus42117
11Lille42117
12Man City42117
13Arsenal42117
14B. Leverkusen42117
15Celtic42117
16Dinamo Zagreb42117
17AC Milan42026
18Bayern42026
19Benfica42026
20Feyenoord42026
21Real Madrid42026
22Brugge42026
23Atletico42026
24PSV41215
25Sparta Prague41124
26Stuttgart41124
27PSG41124
28Shakhtar41124
29Girona41033
30Salzburg41033
31Bologna40131
32RB Leipzig40040
33Sturm Graz40040
34Young Boys40040
35Red Star40040
36Slovan Bratislava40040


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!