Marseille has been given a boost by the fitness of Brandão and Loïc Rémy, but set to start today's match against Manchester United. That's not to say Didier Deschamps is without surprises. Rod Fanni will start at right back, pushing Charles Kaboure into midfield, with Stephane Mbia apparently set to start along side Souleymane Diawara in central defense. Gabriel Heinze goes out to the left, making Tayo Taiwo the sacrificed player. Benoit Cheyrou is also, surprisingly, on the bench.
Marseille Vs. Manchester United: Lineups And Reactions
Those are a lot of changes from the weekend, and while those are all capable and experienced players, it all looks too reactionary. Not only does it leave a lead-footed Heinze to match-up against Nani, but it also portends a shift away from a 4-3-3. With André Ayew wide left and a versatile Rémy right, this could play as a 4-2-X-Y, with Lucho in the playmaking role. Whether it’s 4-2-3-1 or 4-2-1-3, we’ll have to see. Honestly, it’s already making my head hurt, a bit.
Here’s Marseille’s full team. The lineup is an educated guess. There are a number of ways Deschamps could deploy this group:
Marseille, Starting XI: Steve Mandanda - Rod Fanni, Souleymane Diawara, Stephane Mbia, Gabriel Heinze - Charles Kaboure, Edouard Cisse - Lucho Gonzalez - Loic Remy, Brandão, Andre Ayew
Marseille Bench: Elinton Andrade, Taye Taiwo, Hilton, Benoit Cheyrou, Jordan Ayew, Mathieu Valbuena, Fabrice Abriel
As is their want in Champions League, Manchester United is set to play 4-5-1, and as we only subtly hinted in our injury update, Wayne Rooney looks set to be deployed wide left. Dimitar Berbatove gets the start up top, with the only other surprise being Darren Gibson's inclusion over Paul Scholes. But even that is a minor surprise, with the rest of United's team somewhat predictable.
Manchester United, Starting XI: Edwin van der Sar - John O'Shea, Chris Smalling, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra - Nani, Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick, Darron Gibson, Wayne Rooney - Dimitar Berbatov
Manchester United Bench: Tomasz Klusczak, Paul Scholes, Wes Brown, Javier Hernández, Fabio da Silva, Rafael da Silva, Gabriel Obertan
The lineups are a boon for United. Deschamps has chosen as conservative a side as he could have reasonably selected, even sacrificing Taiwo as a danger man at left back. For a United team that will be more than content going back to Old Trafford 0-0, Deschamps’ is lending a helping hand.
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