ucl preview: Marseille welcome blunted Atalanta
After mixed results for Ligue 1 McDonald's in Tuesday's action, Olympique de Marseille will take up the mantle for France's top flight in the Champions League tomorrow as they welcome Atalanta. Get all you need to know with our match preview.
Injuries to the fore for OM
While certainly not of the magnitude of the recent losses suffered by Paris Saint-Germain (Achraf Hakimi and Ousmane Dembélé have joined Désiré Doué in looking set to miss several weeks), Marseille will find their options limited as they look to get one on over on a putative rival for the playoff spots. In addition to Emerson, sent off in the previous match, Roberto de Zerbi will have to do without defenders Nayef Aguerd and Leo Balerdi, as well as winger Timothy Weah.
He'll still be able to field a strong eleven, with Mason Greenwood and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang both available. Speaking to the press pre-match, de Zerbi averred that the testing nature of so many absentees could even have a positive effect in the long run, saying, "The sun will shine again once all our injured players are back, but it's during these challenging spells that we have to push ourselves and be determined. Because if we manage to overcome these difficult moments, things will get better and easier."
With the likes of Liverpool and Newcastle still to come in this competition, though, the hosts will have to be keen to get three points which could vault them as high as tenth place depending on other results.
When you hear the @ChampionsLeague anthem coming on 🎶 #OMAtalanta pic.twitter.com/XTYL2MpR6t
— Olympique de Marseille (@OM_Officiel) November 4, 2025
Misfiring atalanta
For the better part of a decade Atalanta have been one of the most high-flying teams in Serie A, with an attack-minded philosophy making them capable of being genuine title contenders at home and regular participants in the Champions League. But with the departure of manager Gian Piero Gasperini in the summer (as well as leading scorer Mateo Retegui), the current iteration of the team has been rather more needs must, especially going forward.
Since a 2-1 comeback win over Club Brugge in late September, the Bergamo side have failed to find the net more than once in a match, slipping to eleventh place domestically. In Europe, the result against the Belgian side has them just about still in contention to advance, but a drab scoreless draw against Red Star Belgrade in the previous round has them looking over their shoulders, especially as they'll be missing key pieces in defence and midfield in the form of Giorgio Scalvini and Marten de Roon, leaving veteran manager Ivan Juric to get the balance right in what will surely be a boiling atmosphere at the Vélodrôme.
For his part, Juric spoke with admiration about his counterpart, saying, "It will be tough against Marseille, as Roberto De Zerbi is a great coach, and is training a squad full of talent. This is a fired-up team who are very difficult to face. Roberto had impressive experiences abroad, and I can see that his time in France has helped him to grow and improve, as it’s still his style of football but more aggressive now.
Predicted lineups:
Olympique de Marseille (4-2-3-1): Rulli; Murillo, Pavard, Egan-Riley, Garcia; Vermeeren, Højbjerg; Greenwood, O’Riley, Paixão; Aubameyang
Atalanta BC (3-4-2-1): Carnesecchi; Kossounou, Hien, Djimsiti; Bellanova, Éderson, Pašalić, Zalewski; Lookman, De Ketelaere; Krstović
