Fond Madrid memories for Marseille return

On the last occasion Real Madrid CF played host to Olympique de Marseille it proved a night for the star names with Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo twice and Luís Figo all on the scoresheet in a 4-2 home victory. With a new generation of Galácticos making an instant impact via a 5-2 win at FC Zürich in the first round of games – when Marseille went down 2-1 at home to AC Milan – the Santiago Bernabéu will be hoping for a repeat performance on Matchday 2.

Previous meetings
• That 4-2 win, and a later 2-1 victory for Madrid at the Stade Vélodrome, came in the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League group stage, the only previous fixtures between the teams.

• In the first game Didier Drogba shot Marseille ahead before goals from Roberto Carlos (29), Ronaldo (34, 57) and Figo (61 pen) turned the game around, despite Daniel Van Buyten's late consolation for the visitors.

• Iker Casillas and Raúl González were in Madrid's starting lineup for that game on 16 September 2003, with Guti a 73rd-minute substitute.

• In the return on 26 November a David Beckham free-kick set Madrid up for another win which was secured by Ronaldo's late drive after Mido had headed Marseille level. Casillas and Raúl again played 90 minutes, with Guti once more a late replacement.

• The Spanish side have drawn their last two home fixtures against French visitors, both against Olympique Lyonnais in the 2005/06 and 2006/07 group stages.

• Marseille lost 2-1 at Club Atlético de Madrid in last season's group stage. In five visits to Spain their best result was a goalless draw at RC Celta de Vigo in the 1998/99 UEFA Cup quarter-finals that took them into the last four 2-1 on aggregate.

• Madrid beat Stade de Reims Champagne 4-3 in the first European Champion Clubs' Cup final in 1956 and then defeated the same opponents 2-0 three years later to claim a fourth successive crown.

Match background
• Los Merengues lost twice at home in last season's UEFA Champions League, going down 2-0 to Juventus in a group match and losing 1-0 to Liverpool FC in the first knockout round first leg en route to a 5-0 aggregate defeat. FC BATE Borisov (2-0) and FC Zenit St. Petersburg (3-0) were both beaten at the Santiago Bernabéu in the group stage.

• Marseille lost all three away games in last season's group stage, following the defeat by Atlético with reverses at PSV Eindhoven (2-0) and Liverpool (1-0).

• With reverses at FC Porto and Beşiktaş JK in the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League group stage, the French side have lost five successive away games in the competition proper since winning 1-0 at Liverpool in their first tie on the road in 2007/08.

Team ties
• Zinédine Zidane was born in Marseille and spent five seasons with Madrid between 2001 and 2006, scoring the winning goal in their 2-1 victory in the 2002 UEFA Champions League final against Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

• OM's Fernando Morientes picked up three UEFA Champions League winners' medals with Madrid between 1997 and 2005. He scored in the 2000 final in a 3-0 win against Valencia CF, as did Raúl.

• Morientes spent 2003/04 on loan at AS Monaco FC and scored in both legs of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final as they ousted Madrid on away goals after a 5-5 aggregate score.

• In Morientes' final appearance for the Spanish national side, a 1-0 home victory against Iceland on 28 March 2007 in a UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifier, his team-mates included Casillas, Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso.

• Gabriel Heinze swapped Madrid for Marseille in the summer after two years with the Spanish side.

• Alonso was in the Liverpool team that beat Marseille 1-0 at Anfield in last season's group stage on 26 November 2008.

• Karim Benzema joined the Olympique Lyonnais academy at the age of nine, eventually leaving the French side for Madrid in the summer. The striked scored three goals in five league appearances against OM, including two on his last trip to the Vélodrome in Lyon's 3-1 win on 17 May 2009.

• Fernando Gago and Heinze are team-mates in the Argentina national team.

• Heinze and Kaká were on opposing sides when Argentina faced Brazil in a FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifying tie earlier this month, the latter's team running out 3-1 victors.