VS.
So, we travel to the land of Cantona and Evra to face the 9 time French Champions Olympique De Marseille!! Gabriel Heinze, the ex-Red, currently plays for them.
A favorable draw for us? Considering the recent form of both the clubs, yeah, maybe..!!
United are at the top of the Premier League table, Unbeaten at the moment while Marseille are at 5th spot in the French Ligue 1, losing 4 and drawing 6 of their 17 games. Though, a lot can happen between now and February, when the teams will first meet.
Didier Deschamps’ men are more than capable of turning the tides in their favor and have proved their competency at the highest level on more than one occasion. Deschamps, “the Renaissance man”, as he is fondly known, guided Marseille on “an extraordinary human adventure” to the French title in his first season in-charge (reported in “The Guardian”). He keeps a regular check on the Premier League and is aware of the happenings in England. He was also approached by Liverpool to replace Rafael Benitez. Also, a few of Marseille players like Loic Remy and Rod Fenni have been regularly linked with one Premier League Club or the other. Hatem Ben Arfa, a Marseille player, is currently on loan at Newcastle United.
Last season, they couldn’t proceed from the group stages of the Champions League, having been grouped with the likes of Real Madrid and AC Milan. But, they ended up winning the Ligue 1 and Coupe de la Ligue.
Meanwhile, United have finally settled down from a nervy start, where they developed a habit of conceding late equalizers, and now look like a team ready to take on anyone and everyone. Their last match against Arsenal was a spectacular display of their defensive strength and Marseille will find it hard to score against a strong United back 4.
All in all, a comparatively easy tie for United, but still Marseille are the French champions for a reason and can’t be taken lightly, at all.
The other ties are:
CHELSEA vs. COPENHAGEN
ARSENAL vs. BARCELONA
SPURS vs. AC MILAN
INTER vs. BAYERN
SHAKHTAR vs. ROMA
VALENCIA vs. SCHALKE
LYON vs. REAL MADRID
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