Marseille on guard for Zenit groundhog day

Olympique de Marseille will hope to avoid a repeat performance as they meet FC Zenit St. Petersburg for a second time in the UEFA Cup Round of 16.

• The two sides were drawn together at the same stage in the 2005/06 competition, with Zenit prevailing 2-1 on aggregate following a 1-0 win in France and a 1-1 draw on home soil.

• Andrei Arshavin - who is still at Zenit – scored the winner in the first leg, while Aleksandr Kerzhakov put the 2007 Russian champions ahead in the return before Frédéric Déhu equalised.

• Kerzhakov subsequently left the club for Sevilla FC, where he won the 2006/07 UEFA Cup. However, he returned to Russia join FC Dinamo Moskva for a €7m fee on 25 February.

• Of the current Marseille squad, Taye Taiwo, Wilson Oruma, Mamadou Niang and Samir Nasri played in the first leg while goalkeeper Cédric Carrasso was an unused substitute.

• Oruma was suspended for the second leg along with Franck Ribéry, who was sent off in the first leg in France. Deputising for the injured Fabien Barthez, Carrasso endured a grim evening. At fault for letting Kerzhakov's strike go in, he was dismissed in the dying seconds for a foul on the goalscorer.

• Taiwo, Niang and Nasri also played in the second leg, as did Lorik Cana.

• Marseille's then coach Jean Fernandez missed the second leg after being suspended along with his assistant Albert Emon for comments made to the referee after the game in France.

• Dick Advocaat has replaced Vlastimíl Petržela as Zenit coach since then, but the first-team squad remains substantially unchanged. Along with Arshavin, current squad members Vyacheslav Malafeev, Ivica Križanac, Radek Šírl, Vladislav Radimov, Igor Denisov and Aleksandr Anyukov played in both legs of that tie while goalkeeper Mikhail Kerzhakov was twice an unused substitute. Olexandr Gorshkov also played in the second leg.

• In total, Marseille have played nine games against Russian sides, winning five, drawing two and losing two. They have already met Russian opponents in this season's UEFA Cup, beating FC Spartak Moskva 3-2 on aggregate in the Round of 32.

• The home defeat against Zenit back in 2006 remains their only loss against a Russian side in Marseille. They won their other three home games against Premier-Liga opposition.

• Zenit played only one game against French opposition prior to their previous tie against Marseille, losing 2-1 at LOSC Lille Métropole in the 2004/05 UEFA Cup group stage.

• Marseille coach Erik Gerets' long playing career included only one game against Russian opposition as his Belgium side beat the USSR 4-3 at the 1986 FIFA World Cup finals.

• He and Zenit coach Dick Advocaat's paths did not cross during their respective spells with PSV Eindhoven, but they have been on opposite sides before as coaches in the 1999/2000 UEFA Champions League group stage. Advocaat's Rangers FC side twice overcame Gerets' PSV, 1-0 in Eindhoven and 4-1 at Ibrox.

• Advocaat, who will serve a touchline ban in the first leg against Marseille, was involved in four games against French sides as a club coach with Rangers. His team earned three draws and one win against Ligue 1 outfits.

• Zenit's Dutch midfielder Fernando Ricksen and Marseille central defender Julien Rodriguez were team-mates at Rangers in 2005/06.

• Marseille midfielder Boudewijn Zenden played under Advocaat during the opening spell of his career at PSV, joining FC Barcelona in 1998 while his coach left for Rangers. Under Advocaat, Zenden helped PSV win the 1995/96 Dutch Cup and the 1996/97 Eredivisie title.

• Zenit's Roman Shirokov and Šírl are both suspended after being sent off in their previous game at Villarreal CF. Pavel Porgebnyak, Kim Dong Jin and Aleksandr Anyukov are within a booking of a one-match ban.

• Marseille's Cana is serving a one-match suspension. Djibril Cissé, Steve Mandanda, Nasri and Niang are within a booking of bans themselves.

• Having parachuted into the competition from the UEFA Champions League group stage, Marseille beat Spartak 3-2 on aggregate to reach the Round of 16. After finishing third in UEFA Cup Group A, Zenit beat Villarreal on away goals in the Round of 32, winning 1-0 at home and clinging on to lose 2-1 in Spain.

• The second leg will be played in St. Petersburg on 12 March. The draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the UEFA Cup will be held at UEFA HQ in Nyon on 14 March at 12.00CET.