Ben & Rob's preview - Olympique de Marseille
Tue 01 November 2022, 10:00|
Tottenham Hotspur
It's all on the line at the Stade Velodrome this evening - N17 Live presenter Ben Haines and Club commentator Rob Daly look ahead to our UEFA Champions League Group D MD6 decider against Olympique de Marseille...
Catch up with our dynamic duo for our next N17 Live show ahead of Sunday's cracker against Liverpool - we're due on air at 3.25pm, live on SPURSPLAY.
Rob Daly
"First of all, the weekend, what a victory that was at Bournemouth! It wasn't the prettiest, but it was something about the belligerence of the team that was extremely encouraging, because it would have been easy to look at the way the team fought and fought to win against Sporting and then not have the energy to try something similar again, but to come back from 2-0 down with three goals in the second half, the winner in added time, was remarkable, really. So Marseille... we know the situation in the group - Spurs draw or win and they're through, Marseille have to win or they're out. They will obviously go for it, although they are in a rotten run of form, lost three of their last four in all competitions, drew the other 2-2 against Strasbourg at the weekend. They haven't won since their victory on MD4 against Sporting Lisbon. The double-header wins against Sporting were unusual as, in both games, Sporting got themselves in a position where they had a one-man disadvantage, and then a two-man disadvantage in the second game. Having said that, I thought Marseille played really well at Spurs in MD1, well organised with a couple of players who could dictate play like Matteo Guendouzi, the threat of the wing-backs, Nuno Tavares on loan from Arsenal, and Igor Tudor has said this is the game of the season for Marseille, so they will go for it. I think Spurs are fundamentally the better team, better squad, even without Kulusevski, Richarlison and Romero at the moment. Rodrigo Bentancur has underlined his importance against Sporting and Bournemouth, where he was rested. Eric Dier will be relatively fresh coming back in, Ivan Perisic likewise if selected. Of course, not having Antonio Conte on the touchline isn't ideal, but everyone knows the drill, it's coming up to a year since he took over, he has a trusted assistant in Cristian Stellini and Spurs should believe they can get the result and go through to the Round of 16."
Ben Haines
"Let's start at Bournemouth, I'm really torn... the fan in me loved the last-minute winner and that drama and I feel like a bit of an idiot, because I'm always saying, 'that drama's so much fun', but I was then pining for what Rob would call a 'bread and butter' Spurs win, a comfortable 2-0, something like that, but we made it difficult for ourselves... on the flip side, the character we showed was magnificent and you would always rather go into a game like this against Marseille bouncing off the back of a late win like that. I'm so pleased we turned it around. I think we're reaching a point now where we have to start talking about Rodrigo Bentancur as one of the signings of the last five years in the Premier League, in terms of value, quality, his ceiling just gets higher and higher. His quality on the ball, the composure of his winner at Bournemouth, the calmness just to guide it in was so, so good. I'm loving watching him play, all the things we talk about, taking the ball under pressure, never looking flustered, being able to progress the team and drift into pockets of space to make things happen, plus the tenacity going the other way, just phenomenal. It's a tough one at Marseille because I guess you don't want to go into a game with the mindset that 'a draw will do', particularly when the opposition need to win. Marseille have the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Dimitri Payet, Nuno Tavares, Matteo Guendouzi, Eric Bailly, Cengiz Under - all players who, in the past, would very much like the idea of beating Spurs! I think we have to go for a win, start well, and that makes the whole game so much more manageable, as it means they will then have to come out and attack, and that's when we're at our best. I always remember the second leg of our Round of 16 tie against Borussia Dortmund back in 2018/19, when we won 3-0 at home in the first leg and then put on a magnificent defensive display in the away leg, we looked so good on the break that night as well, and Harry Kane eventually scored that wonderful goal, that net rattle you get in Dortmund I always think of. That could be how this one plays out."
