Olympique Marseille vs Tottenham: Round of 16 spot at stake in crunch clash

Topics: TV Schedules, TV Listings, Tottenham, Olympique Marseille, UEFA Champions League

Tottenham will be looking to book their spot in the Champions League round of 16 as they travel to face Marseille on matchday six on Tuesday, November 1.

While several sides, including reigning champions Real Madrid, as well as Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, PSG, Liverpool, and Napoli have all secured a spot in the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League round of 16, there are a few spots up for grabs. Four, to be precise, and those four will be decided over the next few days as the group stages comes to its conclusion.

Group D arguably is the most interesting quartet, as none of the four teams have been eliminated, yet none of the four have secured a spot in the knockout rounds, as can be seen here:

Thus, ahead of matchday six, with Olympique Marseille welcoming Tottenham, Group D's fixtures, which will also feature last season's Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt facing Sporting CP, will definitely be one fans and neutrals will want to keep their eyes on this Tuesday.

What makes this quartet a fascinating one is the fact that Olympique Marseille are bottom of their quartet but are still in the running to actually qualify for the round of 16. Indeed, a win for Igor Tudor's side could see them even finish top of the group, provided that Frankfurt and Sporting play out to a draw.

However, the hosts have a frustrating record against English sides, with seven losses from their last nine meetings and in fact, zero success since beating Chelsea 1-0 back in December 2010. That being said, all is not lost. Tottenham, who despite topping the group, are not into the round of 16 just yet, have not been at their very best in this competition.

Indeed, Antonio Conte's side have failed to win their last six away games agianst French sides in Europe, while they have won just two of their last eight Champions League ties. On the road, their record is even more disappointing, with zero wins from their last four away matches and despite boasting a strong attack, Spurs have failed to score in three of those away games.

A win for the visitors, of course, would help them not only snap that bad streak but ensure safe passage to the round of 16. Even a draw would suffice for Spurs, regardless of whatever happens from the Sporting and Frankfurt, so it will be very interesting to see which of these two teams progresess, and which may have to contend with featuring in the Europa League next year.

Team news: Olympique Marseille vs Tottenham

Olympique Marseille: Both Bailly (hamstring) and Gueye (knee) are in doubt for this tie.

Tottenham: Richarlison (calf), Romero (calf), and Kulusevski (thigh) are all set to miss out for the visitors.

Match facts: Olympique Marseille vs Tottenham

Marseille have failed to win their last nine games against English sides in the UCL (D2 L7), with their last success being a 1-0 win over Chelsea in December 2010
Meanwhile, Tottenham have failed to win their last six away ties against French teams in European competition (D4 L2)
Spurs also have won just two of their last eight UCL games (D2 L4)...
...and have struggled in their travels, with zero wins from their last four away games
Conte's side will be aiming to avoid setting two unwanted records: a fifth consecutive away game sans a win as well as failing to score in a fourth straight away UCL match