Champions League 2nd Round 2nd Leg Preview (15-03-2011)
Manchester United will be going into this game brimming with confidence after a good win over Arsenal in the quarter finals of the FA Cup, with what was a relatively weakened side. Sir Alex Ferguson will be looking to bring Nani and Michael Carrick back into first team action and possibly hand Antonio Valencia his first start since he broke his leg towards the beginning of the season. This will be a welcome boost for a Manchester United side that ‘hasn’t been at their best’ for the majority of the season, and now with just 2 months of it left, it would appear they are now at full strength in attack.
Manchester United are still without captain Rio Ferdinand and ‘Mr Reliable’ Darren Fletcher, but with Vidic and Smalling playing the way they are, and Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes getting a rest at the weekend, I doubt they’ll be missed.
United will have to make a massive improvement on their performance in Marseille if they want to progress into the quarter finals of the Champions League. The first leg was a very stale affair with little goalmouth action, but Marseille will also need to be on their top form as United’s home form this season has been nothing short of phenomenal. Despite Manchester United’s poor away form this season, they are still challenging on three fronts for a trophy this year, and many would expect them to advance into the quarter finals later on tonight.
Marseille will probably be relatively happy going into this tie knowing that a win or a scoring draw will see them through to the next round, they’re in this position after remaining solid at the Stade Velodrome and will no doubt have to maintain a similar standard of football when they come to Old Trafford later tonight.
Marseille are currently sitting fourth, four points behind the leaders Lille, in Ligue 1 and will be hoping to take their good from the league into the Champions League. They’ve won five of the last six in the league, their only loss coming at home to the side at the top of the league, Lille. One thing that might give Marseille a bit of confidence is that they do have the best away form in Ligue 1 so far this season, in 14 games they’ve won 6 and only lost on 3 occasions.
Marseille will be happy to welcome influential midfielder Mathieu Valbuena back into the squad after shaking off a knee injury. The main injury worry though is Andre-Pierre Gignac, the striker has been in good form this season, and he’s scored 8 goals in 20 starts for Marseille this year, two goals behind leading goal scorer Loic Remy. The Frenchman has been including in the squad that’s travelling to Manchester, but whether he’s 100% fit is another matter.
Manchester United will definitely have to keep one eye on Lucho Gonzalez, the experienced Argentinean midfielder has grabbed nine goals this season, two of which coming in the Champions League. If Gonzalez hits form tonight, and links up well with the Marseille front line, we could be seeing a shock early exit for Manchester United in the Champions League this season.
Key Men:
Manchester United: Wayne Rooney
Marseille: Lucho Gonzalez
My Prediction: Manchester United 3 Marseille 1
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