Marseille Vs AC Milan: Champions League Preview

Marseille vs AC Milan

Tuesday 15 September 2009,

Vélodrome - Marseille

Kick-Off: 20:45 CET (19:45 UK Time)

Marseille

Olympique de Marseille come into the match against AC Milan on fine form as they remain unbeaten in Ligue 1.

Didier Deschamps has enjoyed a successful return to Marseille in his first year as manager, and has reason to believe that his team can shake things up a bit in the Champions League this year.

New additions Lucho Gonzalez, Gabriel Heinze and Fernando Morientes are proof to the fact that Deschamps has added top quality players to his side.

Add that to the fact that he has been able to keep hold important players, such as Stephane M’Bia, who was consistently linked with a move away from OM over the summer, and Mamadou Niang, who scored 16 goals in 31 matches, three of which came in the Champions League, and you’ve got a recipe for success.

Brandao has looked sharp in recent weeks and should be given the start against Milan, while Bakari Kone came off injured in the 0-0 draw against Bordeaux and didn’t feature against Le Mans on Saturday.

AC Milan

AC Milan are quickly making a mess of their season.

The horrible summer pre-season has carried over to the Serie A for Leonardo, as his team are struggling mightily to find any form of consistency. In fact, the only consistency the team has found, is that they have been consistently poor.

Saturday evening’s 0-0 draw with Livorno is testament to yet another poor display in a run of bad outings for Milan. The Italian giants were heavily favoured to beat tipped bottom feeders, Livorno, but were unable to find a breakthrough.

Klaas Jan Huntelaar got his first start for AC Milan, but was unable to leave his stamp on the game. The match was dull and uneventful until the second half when Andrea Pirlo hit the bar from a free kick.

Filippo Inzaghi replaced Huntelaar late in the match and should receive some form of confidence heading into the match against Marseille. While the rest of the team has looked very average coming forward, perhaps the tightrope-walking, veteran poacher could provide a much needed spark.

Pirlo should return to the first team after coming off the bench against Livorno. Ronaldinho failed to impress, again.

Prediction

It’s hard to believe Milan can win anything at the moment. It’s also hard to believe Leonardo will have a job come Christmas if drastic changes don’t arrive soon.

Marseille will presumably line up in a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 formation, and Niang should provide all the offence necessary to get the campaign started on the right foot.

Marseille vs Milan Prediction: Marseille 1 - AC Milan 0

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