Borussia Dortmund vs Marseille preview - Dortmund won`t give up - 7M sport

Borussia Dortmund vs Marseille preview - Dortmund won`t give up



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Posted Tuesday, December 06, 2011 by PA

Borussia Dortmund have set their sights on an unlikely qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League when they host Marseille.

A victory by at least four goals is necessary to give them any hope of reaching the last 16, although even then they need a helping hand from Arsenal.

Should Arsenal defeat Olympiacos in Greece, a win by four goals would be enough, but should the Gunners only draw, Dortmund would need to thrash Marseille by at least five goals to dislodge the Greeks from second spot.

As impossible as it might seem, the defending German champions have nothing to lose and will certainly give it a go in front of a sell-out crowd at the Westfalenstadion.

"It's pretty simple: we have got to win and then we will have to see as the game progresses by what margin we have got to win," said the club's general manager Hans-Joachim Watzke.

"I personally believe Arsenal have a good chance in Piraeus whether they play their best team or not."

If the chances of reaching the next round of the Champions League are slim, at least snatching third place in the group and a place in the Europa League is in their own hands, although that is also a tall order since they must still defeat their French opponents by four goals.

"If we can get one or two goals in the first half, then anything is possible in football," said their director of sport Michael Zorc on his club's website.

The aim will therefore be to attack from the start and put their French opponents against the ropes, as risky as that may sound.

"We are pretty relaxed about this game because we know that we are outsiders," said captain Sebastian Kehl.

"We will try to play power football and really attack from the beginning to maybe have a small chance of making a miracle possible.

"But the chances of going through are very slim."

Marseille midfielder Menoit Cheyrou is certainly not taking anything for granted, on the other hand.

"It's going to be complicated because Dortmund are back up to their level in the league and we saw from the first match against them that the game could have gone their way," he said on his club's website.

"Qualification is going to be decided between two teams who will play an open and contested game."

Cheyrou has also admitted to being a fan of the football played across the border in the Bundesliga.

"I like their style of play," he said. "It is an open kind of football and they score a lot of goals, but concede a lot too.

"There are lots of spectacular shots from distance and they have beautiful stadia with great atmospheres.

"It is a league which is on the rise and I like watching German games. It is a very attractive league."

Dortmund will be without the suspended Marcel Schmelzer while Moritz Leitner continues to have a back problem which puts his involvement in jeopardy.

Marseille arrive without striker Andre-Pierre Gignac, but their coach Didier Deschamps otherwise has a fully-fit squad to choose from.



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