MATCH PREVIEW: REDS V MARSEILLE

Paul Hassall 03 October 2007

When Liverpool face French opposition in Europe it inevitably conjures up images of the epic triumph that was St Etienne.
It was a pivotal 90 minutes of football that set us on the road to becoming European champions for the very first time and is the game that immortalised David Fairclough in Reds folklore.

Since then we have endured mixed fortunes against our Gallic counterparts with wins over Monaco and Auxerre countered by defeats against Strasbourg and Paris St Germain.

This season we have already come up against a side from across The Channel, in Toulouse, but Benitez will be expecting much more of a test when his team take on Olympique Marseille in Match Day Two of Group A.

The French side recently replaced coach Albert Emon with Belgian Eric Gerets after they endured a miserable start to Ligue 1.

A run of one win in nine league matches led the Stade Velodrome outfit to move for the former Galatasaray coach, who arrives with a proven track record having led the Istanbul side to the Turkish championship last season.

It may have been a frustrating start on the domestic scene but in the Champions League it has been a different story and they got their Group A campaign underway in superb style as they secured a 2-0 win at home to Besiktas.

Former Reds striker Djibril Cisse got on the scoresheet and will no doubt be relishing the opportunity to play at Anfield once again, as will veteran Dutch star Bolo Zenden.

In fact the link does not end there as the visitors also boast midfielder Benoit Cheyrou, brother of one-time Reds player Bruno.

The last and only time the two sides met was in the 2003/04 campaign when a Didier Drogba inspired Marseille knocked Gerard Houllier's side out of the UEFA Cup.

A 1-1 draw at Anfield was followed by a 2-1 defeat in France, when the Reds let a 1-0 lead slip after Igor Biscan was sent-off for a professional foul.