Marseille vs. Arsenal: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info and Preview

Arsenal open up their 2013-14 Champions League slate on Wednesday with an intriguing matchup against French club Marseille.

The showdown is one of two matches from a tough Group F that features these two clubs along with Napoli and Borussia Dortmund, the latter of which made the final last year before being ousted by Bayern Munich late in the match.

The Gunners' tough road match to open up will be a telling indication of where this club stands as they look at a daunting group stage that is far from a guarantee to advance in.

Just as well, Marseille look to win their first Champions League title since 1992-93, their only such championship.

Let's take a look at everything you need to know for Arsenal vs. Marseille. 

When: Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 2:45 p.m. ET

Where: Stade Velodrome, Marseille, France

Watch: Fox Soccer Plus, FoxSoccer2Go, Sky Sports Red Button (UK)

Odds: Marseille (40.4 percent), Arsenal (31.7 percent), draw (27.9 percent) according to Bloomberg Sports

Key Storylines

Going on the road in a hostile environment to open up play in what many are pegging as the "group of death" is far from an ideal circumstance, but Arsenal are apparently confident.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger had that much to say on Tuesday according to Sky Sports, and cited his club's win last season on the road at Bayern Munich as a chief reason why his team remains confident.

"

We had nothing to lose, we decided to go for it and realised after the game we were very close to knocking them out.

Overall, I believe even last season we had a decent away record and from that moment you think, "If we can go to Munich and win, why not anywhere else?"

"

Given that Munich went on to win the Champions League altogether and enter this year as the favorite according to Sporting News, winning at Munich last season is nevertheless impressive.

Marseille players are also chiming in, as goalkeeper Steve Mandanda talked up the importance of every match while playing in such a talented group, per John Cross of The Mirror. 

"

This Champions League group is terrific. For any club to progress, every game must be like a final and you have to win your home games. Unless you do that, you have no chance.

Giroud is in sensational form. We have to stop them from scoring and creating danger but that will not be easy. They look a very strong team.

"

Cross also reported that Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker will likely return after missing the Sunderland game by way of illness, and in-form striker Olivier Giroud is also looking to be fit for Wednesday.

Prediction

It's tough to pick against Arsenal right now, given their form and the addition of Mesut Ozil, even if they're playing on the road. 

But at the same time, Marseille boast a strong attack with Dimitri Payet and Andre-Pierre Gignac that will be tough to stop in their own stadium.

I expect Arsenal to hang tough and battle back, but not to victory.

Arsenal 2, Marseille 2