As Auxerre’s Champions League campaign came to a shuddering halt on Wednesday evening as they were trounced by Real Madrid, Olympique de Marseille’s continued at pace as they defeated a confidence-shot Chelsea side 1-0 at the Stade Velodrome. The time for concentrating on such festivities is over and it’s back to Ligue 1 business at the weekend as the duo go face-to-face.
AJA’s goals in Europe were always humble after being placed in arguably the toughest group. After competing well in the opening matches, they found themselves outclassed by los Blancos in midweek. Though the Burgundy side created openings, they were unable to score as the hosts struck four unanswered goals.
Jean Fernandez was typically thoughtful after the match, commenting to Canal+: "We knew it was going to be difficult. We will keep a positive view. [Finishing] last is anecdotal. Against Real Madrid we knew it was going to be complicated, and it was.”
Virtually any game for AJA is tough at the moment because of a horrendous injury position. This was made more acute at in midweek as midfield orchestrator Benoit Pedretti was struck by a hamstring complaint that will keep him out of action until after the Christmas break.
Off the back of five successive losses, the visit of les Phoceens promises to be a difficult affair and it is a match AJA will do well to take anything from given their present state, but with a steady rearguard don’t discount them.
Confidence Boosted
Olympique de Marseille may not be in their pomp, stumbling their way to a series of decent results rather than playing with the poise of champions, but they are certainly confident. Despite being without a number of first team starters when they hosts Chelsea they managed to record 1-0 victory as the unlikely source of Brandao struck the only goal of the match.
“It's good for confidence even if it does not earn us points in Ligue 1,” Deschamps explained to the media. “I don't like singling out a player, but if I must I would pick out Brandao. Tonight, he was the difference. I'm sure we'll need him in the future.
“It's a good thing my players won. After a draw and a loss [in the league] it will give us more confidence.”
Mere days earlier the emotions had been very different as OM were hit by a sucker punch from Nice in a derby encounter. After dominating the second half, Deschamps men had failed to put the ball in the net and would be struck by an undeserved winning goal deep in stoppage time.
Given how many games les Phoceens have managed to get through by their fingernails, critics would argue that such a result was perhaps a long time in coming for the Provence giants, but their ability to bounce back in midweek was impressive.
When Marseille tend to slip unexpected, the Stade Velodrome is normally the venue, so though the trip to Auxerre will by no means be simple, it’s not one that they’ll fear.
TEAM NEWS
Auxerre
Beset by injury problems, the last thing Jean Fernandez needed was another problem, but that’s exactly what he go in midweek as Benoit Pedretti won’t feature for a month because of a hamstring issue.
Key players Cedric Hengbart, Ireneusz Jelen and Delvin N’Dinga are all sidelined, while squad men such as Jeremy Berthod, Alexandre Licata and Yaya Sanogo are out.
Marseille
While Auxerre suffer problems on the injury front, OM’s issues are clear. Andre-Pierre Gignac will return to action on Saturday evening, while Stephane M’Bia is back after Champions League suspension. Lucho Gonzalez and Edouard Cisse will start after being benched in midweek.
Only Cesar Azpilicueta and Hilton are missing.
Prediction
This may not be the most free-flowing Marseille side, but in general over recent weeks they’ve shown that they know how to win. With many of their most important players rested in midweek, Didier Deschamps’ side also have the luxury of fielding a far fresher squad than their hosts. It won’t be easy – it rarely is with OM this season – but they should take the points.
AJ Auxerre 0-2 Marseille 
