Marseille legend Mathieu Valbuena has claimed to be ‘very confident’ that the Ligue 1 club can turn over Tottenham this evening and book their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Group D is, by far, the most fascinatingly poised going into the final matchday, with all four clubs having their destiny in their own hands. Only two points separate Tottenham, who sit in the top spot, from Marseille, who are currently bottom of the group.
The North Londoners know that they need just a point at the Stade Velodrome this evening to progress to the knockout stages while the Ligue 1 club need all three points to secure passage to the next round.
Valbuena believes that Marseille will have a big advantage this evening, given that they will have a boisterous home crowd pushing them on.
The former France international described Antonio Conte’s men as a ‘brittle team’ and backed Igor Tudor’s men to emerge with all three points.
Valbuena told RMC Sport: “Marseille need to go into this game without any pressure, and be positive.
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“They shouldn’t repeat the same mistakes as last year, like against Feyenoord in the Conference League semi-finals, I think that they had a non-match.
“Unlike us in 2011, they’re playing at home, so they’ll have the 12th man behind them. I think Tottenham are a brittle team, they’re definitely beatable.
“There’s character in this [Marseille] team, there’s character in every department. […] Marseille have the team to put in a great performance, stir things up and play without pressure.
“Since the start of the season, Marseille have no reason to envy Tottenham. If they play with their qualities, they can go through. In any case, I’m very confident.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Our away record this season is not great and Marseille fans usually create a very intimidating atmosphere. However, the one thing that could work in our favour is the fact that the Ligue 1 club need to win the match and will thus commit bodies forward. That could play into Tottenham’s hands and give the likes of Son and Kane the space they need to hurt the opponents.
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