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Imperative Victory

Marseille's successes in the Champions League are a rarity, only one in the last 16 games, against 15 defeats.

The statistic should be put into perspective because three of these setbacks were recorded in the round of 16 and then in the quarter-finals in 2012, but it illustrates how much OM are struggling to exist in C1.

But with Frankfurt and Sporting Lisbon in addition to Tottenham, Pool D seems on the right scale for Igor Tudor's group, who must confirm it on Tuesday against the Germans.

"They also lost their first match, so it will be very important. We are going to prepare well and we will have to win on Tuesday if we want to stay in this C1", admitted Jordan Veretout on Saturday after the snatch victory against Lille.

Frankfurt was indeed beaten from the start and at home by Sporting (3-0), before losing again this weekend against Wolfsburg (1-0) to slip to 11th place in the Bundesliga.

The opportunity therefore seems to be seized for Marseille, who held up well against Tottenham before the expulsion of Chancel Mbemba precipitated their loss.

Conversely, a new opposite result would already put OM in a very perilous situation.

"We are lucky to play at home when in 2020 we did not have the supporters", recalled Pape Gueye all the same.

"The loss against Tottenham put us in it and Tuesday's game will therefore be very important. But we are confident," he added.

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A defense to rebuild

Very successful in L1 with six wins and a draw in seven games, OM indeed have reason to be confident.

But Tuesday's meeting is complicated by several problems in defense.

Expelled to London, Mbemba is thus suspended although he has been the most regular and most efficient Marseille defender since the start of the season.

Samuel Gigot, for his part, came out slightly injured against Lille.

"We'll see, we'll try to recover well for Tuesday. I hope it's nothing serious," he said at the time.

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If he was out, Tudor would only have three players available to build their three-man defense: Eric Bailly, Sead Kolasinac and Leonardo Balerdi.

However, the latter was replaced by Kolasinac after a terrible half hour against Lille.

The Argentinian came out under the whistles of the Vélodrome, but his partners and his coach very quickly supported him, aware that they could not afford to lose him on the way.

"Leo is a good player and a great boy, who always gives everything he has," assured Tudor.

"He is strong", for his part judged Mattéo Guendouzi.

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High security

Apart from the sporting aspect, Tuesday's match is also scrutinized for security reasons.

After the serious incidents of the Nice-Cologne match last Thursday, the arrival of many German supporters in Marseille is worrying.

Last season, several OM European matches were marred by incidents between fans around or inside the Velodrome: Galatasaray, Basel, PAOK Salonika, Feyenoord...

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On Tuesday, the visitor parking lot will be full with 3,300 spectators, but several thousand Eintracht fans without tickets should also join Marseille.

"We are not quiet," summed up a source within the club.

OM has however taken several specific measures and has not, for example, sold several hundred places near the parking lot.

The Bouches-du-Rhône prefecture has also issued several orders, in particular prohibiting German supporters from moving to the city center.

From Monday evening, the day before the meeting, the prefecture announced on its Twitter account, five arrests "after the intervention of the police to prevent clashes between opposing supporters in the city center" precisely.

For this high-risk match, the security device is 1,200 people on the OM side, plus a deployment of law enforcement elements estimated at 500 or 600 men.

About forty German stewards will also be present.

© 2022 AFP