Marseille on the defensive

By Matthew Spiro in Marseille

Olympique de Marseille coach José Anigo has warned his side that they must improve their defending or risk "embarrassing" themselves against Liverpool FC in the UEFA Cup fourth round second leg.

Defensive doubts
Anigo saw Marseille's league campaign suffer a further blow on Sunday with a
4-3 defeat at Stade Rennais FC - the second time the French side had conceded four goals in a match in a fortnight. "We simply cannot afford to have lapses in concentration and communication problems at the back against Liverpool," Anigo said. "If we defend that poorly again against players like [Michael] Owen and [Milan] Baroš it could become embarrassing."

Tactical change
Marseille have switched to a five-man defence in recent weeks, with midfield player Brahim Hemdani dropping back to sweeper. While the system has been unsuccessful in the league, Marseille have conceded just one goal in three UEFA Cup matches – Baroš's strike in the 1-1 first-leg draw at Anfield a fortnight ago. But forward Didier Drogba dismissed the suggestion that Marseille are more motivated for the European games, saying: "We know how important Ligue 1 is too.

'Redeeming performance'
"We conceded four at [SC] Bastia then had the chance to redeem ourselves with a good performance at Liverpool four days later and we took it," the striker continued. "Against Rennes we lost 4-3, not
4-0, so people can't accuse us of not trying. All I can say is that the team will be giving its maximum on Thursday. We've already proved that we can compete with the best and we'll be ready."

Drogba danger
Drogba, who struck a potentially crucial away goal 12 minutes from time at Anfield, is likely to carry Marseille’s principal goal threat again. The 26-year-old played as a lone striker in the first leg but will have either Ahmed Hossam 'Mido' or Steve Marlet for company at the Stade Vélodrome as Marseille go on the offensive. "We're not intending to sit back and watch Liverpool play," warned the Ivory Coast player, who has scored 24 goals in all competitions this season. "We have to go for it, score as many goals as we can, concede as few as possible, and hope we win." 

Open spaces
Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier is also anticipating an open match. "I don't think Marseille have the players to just sit and wait," he said. "If they do then, of course, we will adapt, but I expect that they will come at us. Hopefully then we will have a bit more freedom and space to play our football."

Striking threats
The Frenchman is wary of the threat posed by Drogba but insisted that Marseille would be equally concerned about containing his own prolific striker. "We must stop the service getting to Drogba, he is a very good striker and can cause us trouble," Houllier said. "But I'm sure they will be thinking just as hard about how they stop Michael Owen."

Owen goals
The England striker returned to form with two goals against Portsmouth FC last week and Houllier is expecting him to thrive in France. "It's a great stadium, a great atmosphere and I would bet Michael will score a goal for us here," he said. Owen is set to partner Emile Heskey in attack, while Irish international full-back Steve Finnan is out with a shoulder injury.