Tottenham Hotspur v Marseille: Champions League Adventure Begins

by Matthew Harris · Published 5th September 2022 · Updated 5th September 2022

A significant unbeaten run at the end of last season has produced its rewards. Spurs are in the Champions League this term and it all gets underway with Wednesday night’s home tie against Marseille.

The French side enjoyed a productive campaign in 2021/22 and they’ve started the new season in excellent form. That form guide suggests that it might be a tough 90 minutes for Antonio Conte and his men but the bookmakers disagree.

Team News

There were no new signings on deadline day so there will be no new faces in the mix. For once, Tottenham did their transfer dealings early, although many fans on social media were unhappy that there were no late arrivals.

In terms of team news, it’s another fast turnaround from Saturday’s game with Fulham so we’ll have to wait for final confirmation from the manager. We do know that Lucas Moura will continue to sit things out and there appears to be no confirmed date for his return as yet.

Rodrigo Bentancur returned to the side following his recent concussion and that’s a positive development. Cristian Romero was given a sniff of a chance of returning to the squad on Saturday but he didn’t make it. A couple of extra days may help his cause and Antonio would want to see him involved if possible.

Match Odds

Tottenham start as red hot favourites for the win and the best industry odds on the home victory currently stand at 6/13 with VBet. The draw is available at a top price of 39/10 with VBet, while a win for Marseille comes in at a best of 13/2 with BetFred and Coral.

We know that Spurs’ start to the season has largely been positive but what about our opponents? OM are doing pretty well with four wins and a draw from their first five games. Those 13 points put manager Igor Tudor’s team in third place in the French top flight and they are only behind PSG and Lens on goal difference.

At the very least, that form guide suggests that it may be a lot closer than the match result market is suggesting.

Side Markets

First goalscorer markets are dominated by Tottenham players and the favourite here is, of course, Harry Kane who is on offer at best odds of 17/5 with Unibet. Son Heung-Min is next at 9/2 with VBet while Richarlison is quoted at 11/2 with Unibet once again.

Other options from a Spurs point of view include Dejan Kulsevski at 7/1 with Unibet and Ivan Perisic at 12/1 with Betway.

The first option from within the Marseille camp is Luis Suarez – no, not that one – at 12/1 with Unibet while Alexis Sanchez – yes, that one – is listed at 14/1 with Unibet once again.

Away from the player betting, Both Teams to Score is available for Wednesday night’s clash at 10/11 with BetFred and VBet. There are similar options for the ‘no’ bet on BTTS and this can be found at 10/11 with BetFred once again.

On to Total Combined Goals betting now and a modest stake Over the 2.5 line would currently be met with odds of 3/4 with VBet. If you are comfortable with pushing that one stage further, you can get a top price of 15/8 with Unibet and Betway to go above 3.5 goals.

Alternatively, if you’re expecting a dour night on our return to Champions League action, you can get best odds of 13/11 with VBet to go Under the 2.5 line.

We’ll finish as always with some Correct Score options. If you feel that the bookies are right with their assessment of the result then you may want to consider the 3-1 home win which is quoted at 11/1 with Coral and Quinnbet.

A 2-1 away victory for Marseille can be claimed at 20/1 with VBet and 888Sport while the 1-1 draw will carry some interest for neutrals at 15/2 with Betway and Coral.

Who are They?

Some time around the late-1980s and into the early 1990s, you might have seen the odd Marseille shirt around White Hart Lane. They were worn in support of our dearly departed Chris Waddle who had joined the French club in the summer of 1989.

It was a big blow at the time and some fans dealt with it by following the fortunes of an OM side who would christen their new signing ‘Magic Chris’.

Chris Waddle

Anyway, moving forward to 2022 and the current Marseille side qualified for the Champions League by finishing in second place in Ligue Un last season. It was a distant second as they came in 15 points behind champions PSG but it shows that we might have drawn an easier team out of the final UCL pot.

Their leading scorer was Dimitiri Payet who Spurs fans will know well from his time at West Ham. Payet will have been watched and could be a serious threat from set pieces. Meanwhile, former Manchester United striker Alexis Sanchez arrived in the summer and the Chilean international has three goals from his first five league games.

Verdict

There was never going to be an easy game in the group stage of the Champions League but Marseille could be as tough as Eintracht Frankfurt who came out of the hat first. Are we being too pessimistic or is this tie going to be closer than the match odds suggest?

The comparative strengths of the English Premier League and Ligue Un in France are obviously putting Spurs ahead. We also have the benefit of home advantage and a noisy, partisan crowd on another big European night.

We won’t look to bet on the result but we can certainly suggest some side bets which would hopefully add some profit to the evening. Regular readers of our league previews won’t be surprised to see us start with Both Teams to Score.

As we have seen while working through the Marseille side, there are goal threats across the park, both from the main strikers and from midfield. For that same reason, we’ll add in 3.5 goals to our betslip.

That will be all for this game. Our individual goal scorer picks aren’t landing so far this season, so we’ll leave the players alone and look ahead to a collective contribution to a high scoring win on Wednesday night.