Watch Out: Marseille Coach Reveals Key to Defeating Liverpool Ahead of UCL Matchday 7
On 21 January 2026, Roberto De Zerbi, manager of Olympique Marseille, the 3rd place team in France's Ligue 1, gave an interview ahead of the UEFA Champions League 2025-26 group stage matchday 7. Marseille will host Liverpool, who are 4th in the English Premier League, in a game kicking off tonight at 03:00 GMT+7.
Before kickoff, Olympique Marseille have 9 points, sitting in 16th place, while Liverpool have 12 points in 11th place. Both teams still have a chance to finish in the top 8 to automatically advance to the round of 16 or place between 9th and 24th to proceed to the playoff round.
Olympique Marseille's strength lies in their attack. This season, Roberto De Zerbi’s squad has scored 69 goals in 27 matches across all competitions, averaging 2.55 goals per game. They also boast several top forwards whose goal tallies in all competitions are as follows:
Mason Greenwood (26 matches, 20 goals)
Igor Paixão (23 matches, 9 goals)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (23 matches, 8 goals)
Tim Weah (23 matches, 3 goals)
Amine Gouiri (11 matches, 4 goals)
Neil Muphy (3 matches, 1 goal)
Together, these six players have scored 45 goals.
Roberto De Zerbi spoke about Marseille's chances of beating Liverpool to boost their hopes of progressing in the UEFA Champions League knockout phase: "I never prepare for a match with the aim of drawing."
"We prepare and play to win. If we don't run together, we won't win. This is especially important for the forwards. I always keep substitute strikers ready, and if we start to tire around the 60th minute, I can make changes."
