Marseille’s Ligue 1 game against Sochaux has been postponed in order to give OM ample time to prepare for their match against Madrid.  If you will remember, this was a promise made by the French league officials when the negotiations were ongoing regarding the Classico replay.  Apparently, Sochaux is also satisfied with the delay.  OM’s game this weekend against Lens and next weekend against Nice will go on as planned.  Sochaux, which was suppose to be a midweek game, will be rescheduled for after the Madrid game but before the league’s winter break.

Also, apparently the official OM site has created a blog.  The content isn’t fantastic yet– hopefully it will improve.

Well when I said expect a physical game I didn’t expect it to be like this! That being said I’m happy with the way we are playing Milan are having a hard time holding down Brandao and Niang. Yet our defense is certainly not up to par. Taiwo is having a hard time containing Pato, and Heinze seriously needs to step it up at this point I’d rather have Hilton out there. The rest of our guys are doing great out-muscling Milan every chance we get. If things continue as they are now then we can get a win out of this. Our pace is just too fast for Milan to handle. Close the gaps in the defense, have Lucho continue to feed Brandao and Niang and we will pull away. I just hope that Mandanda is okay as losing him would be a huge blow for us.

Let me start this post out by saying that I love pre-match hype.  I love the excitement and anticipation of the unknown; the fervor and passion from both sides in the pre-match psychological games; and the drama when a last minute injury and/or bust-up throws off all the previous pre-match assumptions.  But, one thing I hate about pre-match hype is the fact that 99% of the time the match rarely lives up to the massive expectations I set for the game and the players.

Unfortunately, this Classico fell into that 99%.  Now, there are tons of reasons why I should have expected the lackluster play and low energy– it is right after a long international break, the drama for this game had been drawn out for way too long and the spotlight had shifted elsewhere.  And, while I went into the weekend understanding that everyone else was still following Thierry Henry, Ireland and FIFA, I always assumed that at least our players wouldn’t forget how important this game is.  And this year, the importance isn’t just about the pride of winning the Classico– we are desperately in need of points.  We are sitting 6th in the league.  My only comfort at this point is that despite sitting in 6th place, we are only 4 points behind the leaders Auxerre (wow– who would have ever guess that in August?) and have an extra game play.  But before I get too ahead of myself, let’s review the game in details…

The Match

OM started the match off well and we had at least two great chances from Brandao and Niang in the first 10 minutes or so of the game.  From the beginning, it was obvious that PSG were missing something– and I suspect that something was Makelele..and probably Giuly as well.  All was going well until M’bia was injured and had to be replaced with Cisse at the 17′ mark.  I actually had a bad feeling when M’bia went down in the early minutes of the game in a clash with Sessgnon, but in that encounter he was able to get back up.  The second tousle with Sessgnon proved too much for M’bia though, and he limped off after only 18 minutes (or was he stretchered, can’t remember..).  For information on the extent injury, continuing reading!

As M’bia left the pitch, I will admit that I got a bad feeling, but OM managed to continue playing pretty well and PSG kept giving away corners and free kicks. Despite those chances where we looked certain to score, OM’s single goal managed to come in an unlikely, odd situation.  Abriel delivered an accurate free kick to the box, and our two centers- Heinze and Diawarra- both made a bee-line for the ball, even if it meant getting in the other player’s way.  Despite each of them trying to do everything possible to prevent the other one from scoring, the ball happened to fall for Heinze who headed it into a corner .

I know, I know– why am I knocking his hussle and goal?  The truth is, I dislike Heinze..even when he scores for OM (I do feel a little guilty saying that), and my hatred extends back several clubs…

I disliked him when he was at Manchester United, I was thrilled when they sold him to Madrid (not a Real fan), I was even more giddy when he was frozen out of the Madrid side, I almost wept when Marseille bought him this summer and I was pissed when his presence undeservedly left Taiwo out of the starting 11.

So why do I dislike Heinze– especially when he has produced some critically important goals for us this season (Milan, Zurich, and now PSG)?  Because he is suppose to be a f**cking defender, not a striker dammit!  Our defense sucks this season.  It is ill-conceived, poorly organized,unattractive,  painful to watch and more importantly– completely ineffective!  Heinze was brought in to help patch-up our horrible defense from last year as well as some big game experience (but, honestly, despite the fact that Heinze has played for MU and Real- I’d take Cana over him ANY DAY).  He hasn’t been able to accomplish either of those tasks.  I don’t care how many goals he scores for us– he is still completely useless in my eyes.  If he was able to help plug up our goal, frankly  we wouldn’t need him to score!  Some people (read:  Deschamps) have tried to assert in the press that OM and Heinze defended well this game.  My verdict isn’t quite as generous– to defend well you have to be threatened at least a little. In my eyes, PSG had very few legit scoring opportunities that our defenders (other than Mandanda) effectively disrupted.   The only defensive credit I can bring myself to give to Heinze was for that last ditch tackle on Erding on the 70 minute mark, which looked like an equalizer.

The only person I am more angry with in this situation in Deschamps for trying to justify his own bad summer purchases by moving Heinze to the left and leaving out Taiwo.  At least that was corrected in this game– and it was great to see Taiwo’s smile.

The rest of the game was pretty uneventful.  A few good breaks here and there, but nothing to mount a serious threat.

So, after scoring 11 goals in two games, we will have to be content with just one goal in this game.  And, I will have to be content with the fact that Heinze scored it.

Don’t Forget:  OM is preparing for Milan this week so check for Rich’s preview this week.

M’bia Update

M’bia, who injured his ankle in a tackle with Sessgnon, is uncertain for the Milan game this week.  OM have reported that they will wait until the day they leave for Italy to decide on taking him.  So, while we desperately need him for the Milan game, at least he isn’t out for weeks!

UPDATE: New information regarding the lineup has been tossed around in the press– see below!

The rest of the world may be focusing on the World Cup Playoffs and the “hand of Henry” (and the impending re-play drama) but let’s not forget the biggest game in the Ligue 1 is happening this tomorrow (Friday, 11/20)!  While everyone else is preparing for their week 14 game this weekend, we will be hoping to get our 10th game finally under our belt.  Though, don’t feel too bad for the Classico being slightly overshadowed– after all the first attempt to play offered us lots of gossip, speculation and controversy after the first game was called off by the LFP a mere few hours before kick-off time.  After a week of accusations and temper tantrums (and no, I’m not referring to Hatem’s tantrum yet), both teams finally agreed up on the Friday after the play-offs.

And, now on to the new developments in Marseille since the last preview…

Match Background

Since the original game date, OM have failed to beat 10-men Toulouse (despite have an extra man for over 80 minutes), crushed Zurich 6-1 and only managed a draw with Lyon despite winning 5 goals (okay, we only scored 4–  thanks again Toulalan!).  Our international break friendly was hardly inspiration either– a mere 2-2 draw with Arle Avignon.  So, against one of the best team in France and another European team we can get 8 in the back of the net (and even get them to score 3 against themselves) — but against a Ligue 2 team we can barely muster 2.  If there was a trophy out there for inconsistency, OM would be in good shape to win it!

Despite my obvious bitterness, overall, I’d say our form is even better than at the time of the first scheduled game.

PSG has also managed to find some light since their descent into the depths of the table and have managed to claw their way up to 12th place.  They’ve managed to get their squad swine flu-free and even managed to a great 4-1 win against Sochaux.  Unfortunately, three good things in a row were just too much for Les Parisians, and they immediately succombed to 1-0 loss to Nice in the last League game.

That being said, OM are definitely vulnerable at the back (the only consistency we have managed this season is our consistently shoddy defense) and PSG definitely have a few players on their roster that can make us pay is we slack off on our defensive positioning and marking.  This becomes even more true in big, passionate games such as this- OM’s ability to focus and stay level-headed will be the key to winning this game.

Team News

Marseille

The good news is that all of our players have returned from international duty, we don’t have any serious new injuries to speak of and we may get some players back.

OM.net has listed the following players as out: Rool (knee), Riou (rib), Rodriguez (ankle), M’bow, N’Doumbou, Osei.

The website also lists Deschamp’s 20 players to receive Paris at the Velodrome tomorrow.

Goal: Mandanda, Andrade
Defenders: Bonnart, Bocaly, Hilton, Diawara, Taiwo, Heinze
Midfielders: Mbia, Cisse, Kabore Cheyrou, Abriel, Lucho, Ben Arfa, Valbuena
Strikers: Niang, Koné, Brandao, Morientes

Take a look at that list again, and for good measure check out the original just to verify that I didn’t doctor the list.  That’s right people, BEN ARFA!  Now that I’m done gloating, I’ll be rational enough to admit that he probably won’t play– can you imagine the backlash?  Even though HBA might deserve the boos and whistling, the rest of team don’t deserve that type of distraction in a game like this.

Some of the papers have been reporting some slight problems with Kone so I start on the bench.  Lucho might also get a chance to play, but Deschamps might want to save them both for Milan– especially Lucho, after all, who knows how long he will remain uninjured this time? Other than those two players, I expect Deschamps to field a strong team tomorrow despite having to plan in Milan on Wednesday.  Afterall, losing this game is not an option– we are sitting 8th in the table and frankly, even drawing with Paris is beneath us.

Update:  Some papers are reporting that Diawara will be benched because of his poor performance record so Heinze may be pushed to the center and Taiwo will take the left-back position.  I’m all in favor or Taiwo getting a first team place, I just wish it was at Heinze’s expense instead of Diawara’s.  There are also reports that Lucho will start, which basically means Valbuena is out.  For some reason, all the players I like seem to be Deschamp’s cast offs– Valbuena, Ben Arfa, Taiwo and now Diawara– ugh!

Expected Line-up: Mandanda, Heize, Hilton, Diawara Taiwo, Bonnart, M’bia, Abriel, Cheyrou, Valbuena Lucho, Brandao and Niang

Paris Saint-Germain

Unlike Deschamps, Kombouare will have to contend with both suspensions and injuries when picking his squad.  First, his captain Makelele is out through suspension.  I know some people say he is is past it, but I have to disagree.  He is just the type of player that could bring a big game mentality to PSG.  I’m relieved he won’t be playing against OM, but I’m always sad not to see him play.  In addition to Makelele, Hoarau is also confirmed to be out until 2010.

Expected Line-up: Coupet, Ceara, Traore, Sakho, Armand, Chantome, Clement, Giuly, Sessegnon, Luyindula and Erding

Prediction

OM will win 2-1.  Like I said, this is a big, passionate match and Marseille won’t want to lose this one in front of their supporters (that loss last year hurt so much!).  Our home form has been atrocious, but I’m looking forward to Deschamps and the team breaking that curse this weekend.  If we lose, I predict it will be because of some failure on our part rather than some stroke of genius from PSG.  Without Makelele, PSG have little chance of winning this game on their own– he brings a sense of control and experience that they lack without him.

The controversy with this fixture just won’t go away!  First there was the usual Classico build-up (including some cool NIKE videos), then the swine flu media explosion, fan mayhem, followed up by some temperamental club politics and then the French government decided to have their say…and now we might have a full-on boycott on our hands!

As most of you know, after the original Classico game last month, fans on both sides were involved in some intense riots in Marseille.  Both the clubs and politicians want to avoid a similar scenario breaking out again– unfortunately, they are doing so at the expense of PSG fans.  The following measures have been taken to reduce the risk of conflict:

• Only 1,000 tickets have been allocated to PSG fans
• A special train has been charted by PSG to take fans from Paris to Marseille

PSG fans seem to be angry about both conditions– but especially the second condition, which they feel treats them like “animals” who can’t “behave themselves.”  But they are offended not only by the lack of respect by the PSG club for their fans– but also the club’s lack of financial consideration.  The round trip train ride will cost €100– almost double the cost of a round-trip bus ride (€60).

So what do people do in France when they are pissed about something– THEY BOYCOTT (or strike, protest etc).  I have serious reservations about the effectiveness of this strike– especially considering that half of the tickets have been sold already (as reported by PSG).

At the club level, PSG is angry about the reduced allocation of tickets for the match– and are expected to retaliate when Marseille visit in the Spring (OM requested 2,000 seats originally).

So– where do you stand?  Is the club disrespecting it’s fans?  Are the fans right to boycott– and if so, do you really think this strategy will even be effective?  Is OM right to try to reduce the PSG fan section– and is PSG’s reaction petty or fair?

This has been a physical game to say the least. Our defense has been shaky and we certainly are having some trouble penetrating the Lyon midfield. Niang quiet for the first thirty minutes began to make incursions into but it doesn’t look like he is playing at a hundred percent. There needs to be some change made to the midfield as I believe we are relying to much on the flanks. Regardless Cheyrou’s late equalizer was a welcomed sight it has been a while since he scored and it was a beauty of a shot. Did anyone else see Pjanic fall down when Cheyrou pushed his arm away? Pretty weak I don’t even think Ronaldo would have pulled that off. Anyway I expect to see a continued physical game. I also want to see Ben Arfa or Valbuena subbed in early in the second half as the midfield needs a shot in the arm to stay the pace.

A little inspiration– the celebration after Heinze’s winning goal in game 3.

I can’t believe we are already at game 4 in Europe– it seems like just yesterday I was in shock at our group competition.  Given our first few performances, I gather OM was shocked as well (1-2 thus far in the group stage…and the one game we won was far from a stellar performance).

Unfortunately I don’t have time to do a complete, thorough match preview today.  To catch up on the general build-up to the game I suggest reading Goal.com’s match preview here.  Now that the more objective perspective is out of the way, let the trash talking and mind games begin.  (Please note that the use of both “mind games” and “trash talking” is used liberally here as both coaches were well behaved in their press conferences– unlike Montpellier president Louis Nicollin who used a homophobic slur this past weekend to describe an opposition player).

Zurich is feeling confident in beating OM at the Velodrome (which is reasonable considering their away wins– including Milan in game 2 of the group).  Meanwhile, Deschamps is feeling the pressure and Niang remains practical (French).

And, a few words from Stephane Mbia on the team’s state of mind after drawing this weekend with Toulouse.

The coach has warned us that we must now turn to Tuesday’s game, which will be very important for us to win at home, and to forget Toulouse. We must not whine or lower our heads and hands

Those lucky to attend the game will get the chance to see a lot of beautiful people (French).

Team News

OM: Diawara will make his return to team after serving his one match ban (red card received against Real Madrid). Laurent Bonnert is unavailable because of the red card he received in Zurich during game 3.  As discussed in my previous post, Lucho is expected to be out for up to four weeks with a bad sprain.  Rool and Rodriguez continue to be sidelined.  Cheyrou is also expected to play, despite his injury sustained earlier last week.

Possible Starting Line-Up: Mandanda, Bocaly, Diawara, Heinze, Taiwo; Cheyrou, Kabore, Cisse, Ben Arfa*; Niang, Brandao

I realize I’m probably wrong about this one-it will probably be Valbuena- but I think that if I continue to put HBA out there as a suggestion then one day I might be right.

FC Zurich:  No new injuries, but they continue to miss Yassine Chikhaoui, Martin Buchel and Eric Hassli

Possible Starting Line-Up

Random Fact: OM has never lost to a Swiss team at the Velodrome, though they have managed two victories and one draw since they first played a Swiss team at home in 1994. 

Watch the video below the jump!