Five players could make their Olympique de Marseille debuts on Wednesday night in the third round of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.
In the first competitive match of the season involving a French side, Marseille will take on Panathinaikos in Greece. Whilst RC Lens finished second last season, guaranteeing them a place in the group stages of the competition, Les Phocééns must take the perilous qualifying route. AS Monaco have come unstuck twice in the past two seasons when attempting to take this route into the competition.
The Marseille side that takes to the field in Athens on Wednesday night will be unrecognisable to the side that finished the last campaign. Marcelino has replaced Igor Tudor in the dugout and five players could be set to make their debuts. The Spanish manager will deploy a 4-4-2, which will likely be spearheaded by new signings Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Iliman Ndiaye.
The game may come too soon for Amine Harit, who is now ready to return following his sever injury last season, but it will likely be Azzedine Ounahi who starts on the left. Ismaila Sarr and Geoffrey Kondogbia will also likely make their debuts in midfield, whilst Renan Lodi is set to make his first competitive appearance for Les Phocééns at right-back.
Marseille predicted XI v Panathinaikos
Pau Lopez – Renan Lodi, Samuel Gigot, Leonardo Balerdi, Jonathan Clauss – Azzedine Ounahi, Jordan Veretout, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Ismaila Sarr – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Iliman Ndiaye. (L’Éq)
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
