A downtrodden Marseille face an almost perfect Bayern
Marseille are playing Bayern Munich tonight
Marseille got to the quarter finals by beating Italy’s Inter Milan, but their form in Ligue 1 is less than perfect, they have not seen a single victory in 8 matches, the last time they won was against was precisely in the Champions League against the Italians in the first of the two legs. They are currently ninth in their domestic league with 20 points, 13 away from Champions League positions.
Bayern Munich are in better form domestically, currently 2nd in the Bundesliga with 57 points, only five away from leaders Dortmund who are on 62. Not only that, but two of their most recent victories were by 6 goals (7-1 and 6-0). Bayern’s striker Mario Gomez is currently the top goalscorer of the league. They have also qualified for the German cup final. Bayern desperately want to get to the final as it will be played in Bayern’s own stadium.
It hasn’t been an easy ride for the Germans, they themselves went through a rough patch, but have managed to pass it. It is thought that the main reason for the improvement is due to the constant rotation of the three Bayern players who are in the second line of attack, behind Mario Gomez, Franck Ribery, Thomas Muller, and Robben.
Even though the Germans are favourites, acting chairman of the European Club Assosiation Karl-Heinz Rummenigge warned that Bayern mustn’t go into the match thinking they will win it. Bastian Schweinsteiger who was ruled out in Bayern’s 2-0 win against Hannover 96 due to an ankle problem travelled with the team but it Bayern coach Kupp Heynckes will decide last minute if he if fit to play.
Marseille haven’t qualified for quarter finals since 1993; they won the competition that year. Another blow to Deschamps is that goalkeeper Steve Mandanda was sent off in the game against Inter, giving third choice goalkeeper Andrade a chance to shine.
French international Mathieu Valbuena spoke yesterday and said “We will need our fans. They have expressed their frustration but tomorrow we need them until the end”
Marseille V Bayern Munich - view commentary, squad, and statictics of the game live.
Source: DSG
