Champions League / James Eastham / 29 September 2009 / Leave a comment

Marseille totally rebuilt their squad over the summer, and this trip to face Real Madrid may have come a little bit too early in their redevelopment process for them to pick up points, writes James Eastham. Best bet: Both teams to score @ [1.9].

Recommended bets: Both teams to score @ 1.9; 2-1 and 3-1 scorelines @ 10.0 and 11.0 respectively (split stakes); time of first goal 0-10 mins and 11-20 mins @ 3.55 and 4.0 respectively (split stakes).

We know all about Real Madrid, but how have Marseille performed since their 40m euro summer spending spree intended to end 17 years without a trophy?

Didier Deschamps was appointed in June and immediately set about rebuilding his squad. The former Marseille captain released more than a dozen players and signed 10, including FC Porto's playmaker Lucho Gonzalez (18m euro), Rennes' coveted midfielder Stephane Mbia (13m euro) and Bordeaux centre-half Souleymane Diawara (6.5m euro).

The season started well enough, with three wins and two draws, but cracks have appeared in the past few weeks. L'OM's defence was slow-witted and flat-footed in their 2-1 home defeat to AC Milan in their opening Champions League fixture a fortnight ago, and looked shaky again in the 3-2 defeat at Valenciennes last Saturday

Marseille should excel in France, but will struggle to improve on the third place they've obtained in the group stages in each of the past two seasons. The gulf in class that separates l'OM from Wednesday's opponents is best illustrated by the fact that Gabriel Heinze, a player Real were happy to offload at a cut price just to get him off the wage bill, left the Spanish capital for Marseille, and is now an indisputable member of Deschamps' starting line-up.

Heinze is part of the porous defence that conceded goals from David Ducourtioux (reserve right-back), Milan Bisevac (good centre-half) and Birmingham City flop Rafael Schmitz in that 3-2 defeat to Valenciennes, so what chance of shutting out the most glittering strikeforce in the world? Plenty of punters will head straight for over 2.5 goals ([1.49]) and over 3.5 goals ([2.12]), but a smarter move is both teams to score ([1.9]). Marseille have excellent attacking options, and if Lucho's as effective as in France in the past couple of games, the he should create plenty of chances for a forward line that contains guile (Mamadou Niang), aerial power (ex-Real star Fernando Morientes) and brute force (Brandao).

2-1 ([10.0]) and 3-1 ([11.0]), are the most likely scorelines, and I expect the first goal to be scored early. Marseille may want to shut up shop, but aren't capable of doing so, while Real will want to blow the visitors away. Split your stakes across 0-10 mins ([3.55]) and 11-20 mins ([4.0]) for the time of the first goal.

* Real Madrid v Marseille, Sky Sports Xtra, Wednesday, 7.30pm (7.45pm kick-off)

Tags: Champions League betting, Champions League odds, football betting, Marseille fixtures, Real Madrid squad