Champions League
2008-10-22 - PSV Eindhoven vs Olympique Marseille
A Sports Betting Pick by Gooner
UEFA Champions League
Wednesday 22nd October 2008 - KO 19:45
It's almost the last chance for both of these two clubs, as with no points from their two games in Group D, PSV Eindhoven and Olympique de Marseille are desperate for a win to kick-start their respective UEFA Champions League campaigns.
PSV Eindhoven
And PSV are struggling domestically too - losing 1-2 at leaders NAC Breda to leave the Eindhoven club sitting 4th in the Eredivisie standings.
Finding wins hard to come by is a strange feeling for PSV, who have dominated Dutch football for the last decade and coach coach Huub Stevens is feeling the pressure.
The Dutch champions have no major selection problems.
Only one member of the regular lineup is missing in right-back Jan Kromkamp – suffering from a groin injury – but there is a ready-made replacement in Francisco Rodríguez.
Olympique Marseille
In contrast to PSV, Marseille are turning on the style in France.
OM are the only undefeated team in Ligue 1, their 3-1 victory at Valenciennes FC on Sunday takes Marseille to 2nd, one point behind titleholders Olympique Lyonnais.
However, winning away in Europe is another matter entirely.
Since winning their opening Champions League group-stage match last season at Liverpool, Marseille have lost five of their subsequent six away fixtures in UEFA club competition – three in the UEFA Champions League and two in the UEFA Cup.
HEAD TO HEAD
These two clubs have never played each other directly.
PSV's overall home record against French sides is not as good as I'd expected, standing at just 5-6-3 after 14 games.
Eindhoven have suffered defeats on the last two home games against Ligue 1 sides with Bordeaux winning 3-1 in the 2006/07 group stage, and Olympique Lyonnais winning 1-0 en route to a 5-0 aggregate win.
Marseille have played Dutch clubs just seven times overall for a 2-1-4 record.
Marseille's most recent encounter with an Eredivisie side came in the group stage of the 2005/06 UEFA Cup when Taye Taiwo's 88th-minute penalty earned a 1-0 home win over SC Heerenveen.
THE VERDICT
My rankings would suggest a significant class advantage to PSV, although domestic form and current European form do indicate that these teams are closely matched.
If that is the case then I'd expect the home side to win roughly half the games played, and so the 2.50+ price on PSV Eindhoven to win is something worth taking.
This will be a tight game, but a draw suits neither side, and so that desperation should translate into a winning result for the home team.
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
PSV Eindhoven 2-1 Marseille
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take PSV EINDHOVEN to win
