Marseille – Napoli 22.10.2013

Olympique Marseille are on a three-match losing in all competitions run ahead of the clash against Napoli in the Champions League.

The Italians will try to record a vital victory that could help them stay in the race for a place in the Champions League knock-out phase.

Given the money that have been pumped up in Monaco and PSG of late, Olympique Marseille are no longer considered the title contenders in Ligue 1. Following back-to-back defeats to PSG and Nice, OM are sitting in 5th position in the standings and they have yet to pick up a point in the new Champions League campaign. OM have been handed a tough draw in the Champions League and nobody expected that they would upset Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund and Napoli and reach the next round. Elie Baupˈs men lost to Arsenal 2-1 in their opener and then they lost to Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park 3-0. It is obvious that the French team face a must-win situation against Napoli on home soil and I believe that they will give 100% to keep their knock-out stage hopes alive. Seeing that Marseille have lost their last 5 matches in the Champions League, I do not believe that there is a big value in betting on the hosts.

Napoli management did a great job by signing the likes of Higuain, Callejon, Mertens, Albiol and Reina ahead of the start of the new campaign. As a result, Partenopei occupy second position in Serie A standings and the team could have climbed to the top position if they had defeated league leaders Roma at the weekend. Nonetheless, Rafa Benitezˈs men suffered a 2-0 defeat at Olimpico and they will be looking to return to the winning ways in the Champions League when they take on Marseill on Tuesday night. Former Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuaín has recovered from his injury, but it remains to be seen if he will be ready to start the Marseille game. With the Argentine attacker up front, the Italian side will look much sharper and I believe that they are capable of recording a vital away victory. Napoli are more of a team than their rivals and I believe that the away victory should be considered this time out.