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Arsenal travel to France to play Marseille in their opening game of the group stages of the Champions League. The Gunners have been pitted in the toughest possible group this season with the likes of Borussia Dortmund and Napoli also bidding for top honours.

Arsenal
Reuters

Where to Watch Live

Kick-off is set for 7:45pm BST. Live coverage will be available on Sky Sports 4 and Sky Sports 4 HD.

Overview

Marseille will be confident ahead of their tie against Arsenal, having seen the Gunners struggle defensively against Sunderland in the weekend. The French outfit have been in good form thus far, winning three games and drawing one of their first five games in Ligue 1 and are currently fourth in the table with 10 points. Marseile have been rock solid at home in 2013, losing only two games thus far and will be brimming with confidence against an under strength Arsenal side.

However, their performance in Europe last season was far from impressive, with the French side exiting the Europa League in the group stages. Elie Baup's side has to step up in that regard if they have to reverse the fate that had befallen them in the 2011/12 season where they lost 1-0 to the Gunners at home owing to an injury time winner from Aaron Ramsey.

Arsenal have a host of injuries to worry about, with a host of important players unavailable for the game. However, Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil have been deemed fit to start which should come as a major boost for the Gunners. The Gunners have turned their season around after a 3-1 loss to Aston Villa at home and are currently on a five game winning run after their win against Sunderland. Their away form in 2013 has been one to treasure, with the Gunners on a nine game winning streak starting from their 2-0 win over Bayern Munich in March.

What the Managers Say

Elie Baup: "Individually they have better players, but we have to be a strong team. When a club can pay 50 million Euros for a player like Ozil and bring such a quality player, it is very good for them. But I think we have recruited well, brought in some young players and we're trying to build something for the short and mid-term.

Arsene Wenger: "I am concerned because from now the team play for two months every three or four days and it's important we get some players back because you cannot play for the next two months with the squad we have at the moment."

Form Guide

Marseille

  • Last Five(all competitions, most recent first): D L W W W
  • Last Result: Toulouse FC 1 - 1 Olympique de Marseille

Arsenal

  • Last Five(all competitions, most recent first): W W W W W
  • Last Result: Sunderland 1 - 3 Arsenal FC

Team News

Marseille

Injured: N/A

Doubtful: N/A

Suspended: N/A

Probable Line-Up: Mandanda; N'Koulou, Lucas, Morel, Fanni; Thauvin, Romao, Wanga, Valbuena; Gignac, Payet

Arsenal

Injured: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain(knee), Mikel Arteta(groin), Tomas Rosicky(hamstring), Santi Cazorla(ankle), Lukas Podolski(hamstring)

Doubtful:N/A

Suspended:N/A

Probable Line-Up: Szczesny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs; Ramsey, Wilshere, Flamini; Ozil, Giroud, Walcott