Giggs on course to return for Chelsea match
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Marseille's André-Pierre Gignac, left, picked up a groin injury last night and will not play against Manchester United. Photograph: Vincent Kessler/Reuters
Didier Deschamps discovered the difficulty of fighting for trophies on two fronts when his three first-choice strikers suffered injuries in domestic action to leave the Marseille manager with a major selection problem ahead of Wednesday's visit of Manchester United in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Having been shunted down to fourth place in Ligue 1 because of Lyon's emphatic victory over Nancy on Friday night Deschamps felt he had no choice but to field a strong side at home to St‑Etienne and although their 2-1 victory sent them back into second place in the table it came at a heavy cost, as André‑Pierre Gignac, Brandão and Loïc Rémy all failed to finish the match.
Marseille already knew they would have to take on Sir Alex Ferguson's men without the injured France international forward Mathieu Valbuena. Rémy is said to have a good chance of recovering from his ankle knock in time to take on United but the fitness of Brandão, who also damaged his ankle, remains uncertain while Gignac, the club's most in-form player this year, will definitely miss the match, a slight tear of a quadriceps will rule him out for up to two weeks. Tests on Sunday will confirm the extent of the injury and whether the forward will be able to face United in the return leg.
Marseille paid €18m (£14.7m) to sign Gignac from Toulouse last summer and he initially struggled to prove his worth – some of his displays earlier this season were so poor that he was booed off the pitch by Marseille's always-vociferous ultras. However for last month's League Cup tie against Toulouse Deschamps relieved the 25-year-old of the burden of being the team's attacking fulcrum and instead stationed him wide on the left – and that turned out to be a masterstroke as the player exploited the increased space given to strike five goals in five games, including a spectacular double in last week's win over Sochaux. His transformation was such that he was billed as the man most likely to torment United's defence. Instead Deschamps now finds himself wondering whether he will have enough fit forwards to deploy his usual 4-3-3 formation and may have to ponder a tactical rejig.
The only positive note to emerge from last night's game – beyond the three points – was the fine performance of Lucho González. The Argentinian playmaker was the inspiration behind Marseille's league title last season – their first in 18 years – but his form had dipped alarmingly in recent months, the nadir coming three weeks ago at Monaco when he was substituted in the 79th minute having barely touched the ball.
Against Sochaux last weekend Deschamps tinkered with his tactics in a bid to revitalise the Argentinian, fielding two holding midfielders, Charles Kaboré and the former West Ham United player Edouard Cissé, to liberate González from all defensive duties and allow him to concentrate on creating.
The ploy worked as González produced his best performance of the year. Last night he continued his improvement and scored Marseille's opening goal in the 67th minute. Eleven minutes later his corner lead to Marseille's second, which Rémy swept into the net. Three minutes from time Rémy was caught by a late tackle by Blaise Matuidi and hobbled off the pitch. Christophe Landrin pulled a goal back for the visitors in the last minute but Marseille held on. Their chances of winning against United, however, were left seriously harmed.
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Sir Alex Ferguson is quietly confident Manchester United will claim a place in this season's Champions League quarter-finals.
United visit Marseille on Wednesday looking to secure a first-leg lead that they would be confident of defending in the return clash at Old Trafford three weeks later.
Although there were times when United appeared to struggle during the group phase, they ended up with 14 points from a possible 18, their solid defence conceding just once, in their final match against Valencia.
Even with Rio Ferdinand troubled by a groin injury, Ferguson has no reason to believe that solidity has diminished given Chris Smalling's recent performances.
And having seen Marseille's narrow victory over Chelsea at the same stage, Ferguson feels his side have the edge.
"Their manager, Didier Deschamps, has put together a strong team - a very big, powerful side," Ferguson told Inside United.
"I watched them play at home against Chelsea in the group stage and they won 1-0. But Chelsea managed to create quite a few chances in the match so we hope we can do the same.
"I have been to watch games at Marseille quite a few times and the atmosphere supporters create at their ground is terrific.
"It won't be easy going over there but I think we have a good chance of qualifying."
Marseille have certainly undergone a few changes since the bribery scandal of the early 1990s, which resulted in them being stripped of the Champions League, which they won in 1993.
They encountered United twice 11 years ago, winning on home soil after a defeat at Old Trafford in a group from which both clubs emerged.
However, it was not until last season that the club, which remains France's most popular, were crowned champions again, under the careful stewardship of Deschamps.
The former Chelsea star is not the only familiar face to be facing the Red Devils this week.
Gabriel Heinze spent three seasons at Old Trafford and won popularity for his no-nonsense defending.
However, Ferguson made some less than complimentary observations about the Argentinian after an acrimonious departure to Real Madrid - United refused Heinze's original demand to join Liverpool - while Mathieu Valbuena is hoping to overcome a knee injury, having scored in France's victory over England at Wembley in November.
Still, the draw could have been much worse for United, as Ferguson was reflecting midway through the final group game with Valencia when his team trailed and appeared to be heading for a runners-up berth.
"You can see why it is so important to finish top of your group," said Ferguson.
"When we were down against Valencia, I knew I didn't want that because we could have faced the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich.
"You would obviously prefer not to face those top sides at this stage of the competition."
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Evra hits the boos
Patrice Evra has been told to expect a red-hot reception on his first match in France since he led a national team revolt. Evra, who is today set to sign a new three-and-a-half-year deal with Manchester United, will walk into the Stade Velodrome on Wednesday night to face Marseille. And Marseille’s legendary former captain and coach Jean Fernandez, now boss at Auxerre, says: “This will be his first game in France since the World Cup and the crowd are certainly going to be booing him.”Crawley Town boss Steve Evans is after a re-match against United this summer in a pre-season friendly, according to the Daily Mail.
The Daily Telegraph reports that Marseille’s weekend win over St-Etienne came at a price as star striker Andre-Pierre Gignac suffered an injury that will rule him out of Wednesday’s Champions League tie. Fellow forwards Loic Remy and Brandao also picked up knocks.
The Daily Star follows up Sunday’s reports by claiming that Sir Alex Ferguson is considering a move for £35million-rated Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Luka Modric.
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Given OM's forward and midfield line, I seriously doubt they can make any threats on the MU's defence.
Not really a wise move to use all 3 forwards though, atleast 1 to stay at the target man's role, The one I'd place on the bench is Brandao though, I'd use him as Spare and use Gignac and Remy on the target man position and on the left flank though.
OM Vs Man U, may the best team win, Go OM!
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is it tuesday or wed man u play OM match?
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Manchester United's preparations for their Champions League fixture against Marseille on Wednesday have been hit by the news that Ryan Giggs and Rio Ferdinand both failed to travel with the squad.
Captain Ferdinand has not played for United since sustaining a calf injury in the warm-up prior to the club's 2-1 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers on February 5, but the absence of Giggs is as yet unexplained.
Michael Owen (groin) and Jonny Evans (ankle) also failed to board the plane to France, while Anderson fails to make the trip having suffered a knee injury in the FA Cup win over Crawley which could see him sidelined for two months.
However, Brazilian defenders Fabio and Rafael are both included despite suffering injuries against Crawley, while the squad is boosted by the inclusion of youngsters Joshua King and Ryan Tunnicliffe.
In the absence of Ferdinand and Evans, Chris Smalling will partner Nemanja Vidic in defence, while it is reported that Wayne Rooney could move left to fill in for Giggs.
Marseille, meanwhile, have learned that France international Mathieu Valbuena has recovered from a knee injury suffered on January 22 and could play in the last-16, first-leg tie.
"I am operational and at the coach's disposition," Valbuena said. "It's up to him to decide if he selects me or not."
However, fellow international Andre-Pierre Gignac will definitely miss out after straining an adductor muscle.
Full Manchester United squad: Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Lindegaard; Vidic, O'Shea, Brown, Rafael, Fabio, Evra, Smalling; Scholes, Gibson, Nani, Carrick, Fletcher, Bebe, Obertan, Tunnicliffe; Rooney, Berbatov, Hernandez, King.
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Seven miss Marseille trip
United return to Champions League action on Wednesday night without a number of experienced players.
Ryan Giggs and Anderson joined Jonny Evans, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Owen, Ji-sung Park and long-term absentee Antonio Valencia in missing the flight to France. Further details are likely when Sir Alex Ferguson holds his pre-match press conference in Marseille later this afternoon (Tuesday).
Meanwhile, new goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard is travelling into Europe for the first time with United, although Edwin van der Sar is expected to reclaim his place in the side after being rested from Saturday's FA Cup win over Crawley Town.
The 22-man party also includes two teenagers in Norwegian striker Joshua King and Bury-born midfielder Ryan Tunnicliffe. The young pair were in knock-out action last week, helping the Reds to reach the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals, and were registered with Premier League squad numbers on Friday.
The Reds' squad to take on Olympique Marseille is as follows:
Goalkeepers: van der Sar, Kuszczak, Lindegaard
Defenders: Vidic, O'Shea, Brown, Rafael, Fabio, Evra, Smalling
Midfielders: Scholes, Gibson, Nani, Carrick, Fletcher, Bebe, Obertan, Tunnicliffe
Strikers: Rooney, Berbatov, Hernandez, King. -
Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans will both be absent for United’s visits to Wigan Athletic and Chelsea, leaving Chris Smalling and Nemanja Vidic to continue their partnership at the centre of United’s defence.
Ferdinand and Evans are both likely to be fit for the trip to Anfield to take on Kenny Dalglish’s Liverpool next weekend. But Sir Alex Ferguson will be encouraged by the recent performances of Chris Smalling, softening the blow of Ferdinand’s absence since the start of February.
For United’s visit to the DW Stadium on Saturday, the Reds could have Ryan Giggs and Michael Owen available for selecton.
Sir Alex told reporters on Friday: “Nothing much has changed on the injury front. We’re trying to get Ryan [Giggs] fit for the Wigan game, and Michael Owen is back training and could be available. Rio and Jonny Evans should both be back for Liverpool next weekend.”
On the more longer-term injuries, Ji-sung Park (hamstring), Anderson (knee) and Antonio Valencia (ankle) are all on course for March comebacks. “Ji-sung Park is still two weeks away,” added the boss. “Anderson will probably be back in three weeks, he’s back in Portugal now and we’ll have to see how he progresses.
“Antonio is doing well in training but it’s difficult to assess when he’ll be back. We have to make a decision on when to play him in terms of his own confidence after being out for so long. He could be back in two weeks hopefully.”
The return of Giggs and Owen could be beneficial for Saturday’s trip to Wigan, where Sir Alex is concerned about the newly relaid pitch at the DW.
“It’s obviously a concern that they’ve relaid the pitch, although I understand it’s OK," he said. "It’s be a difficult game, Wigan are a team who play fantastic football, but this time of season they’re all difficult. It’s important that we keep our momentum going because the team who is most consistent will win the league.”
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Sir Alex is hopeful of being able to call on the services of Ryan Giggs for Tuesday's crucial trip to Stamford Bridge.
A hamstring injury has forced the midfielder out of United's last two matches against Marseille and Wigan - he didn't feature against Crawley Town either, but neither did a host of first team stars who were all rested.
Sir Alex will see how Giggs fares in training on Sunday but remains optimistic of having him available for the Chelsea clash.
"Hopefully Ryan will train on Sunday. He's coming on. We might have a couple back for next week as well," the boss MUTV.
"It's always a big game at Chelsea. We used to have a great record down there, but our record over the last seven years or so has been poor.
"We have to do something about that and that’s what Tuesday is about."
