A First

 Manchester City face Marseille for the very first time in club history on Tuesday.

Struggles

 They’ve never met before however, history tells us these sides have struggled against other squads from each respective country.

City has not beaten a French club in the Champions League in their last four encounters.

Last season they fell 3-1 to Lyon in the quarter-finals.

They’ve only won two of their previous seven Champions League games all-time against teams in Ligue 1.

For their part, Marseille has not had a great deal of success against Premier League clubs.

The reigning Ligue 1 runners-up have just one win in their last 11 Champions League encounters with English teams.

One player who’s struggled in European play is French striker Dimitri Payet.

The Marseille superstar has never scored in the Champions League in 21 appearances for Lile and 11 for Marseille.

Injury news

 Pep Guardiola’s side will be shorthanded once again for matchday 2 of the Champions League.

Sergio Aguero is back on the sidelines with an injury sustained in Saturday’s draw with West Ham.

Benjamin Mendy, Gabriel Jesus, Nathan Ake, and Fernandinho are also out.

There is some good news though as Kevin De Bruyne and Aymeric Laporte have made the trip to the south of France.

Manager’s take

  Despite Marseille’s struggles in Europe, City boss Pep Guardiola is not taking this game lightly.

“They are well organised, defend the space. We have to find a way to control the game and not concede in the set pieces. They have one of the best takers in Europe, they are strong there,” says Guardiola.

Where they sit

 Marseille is winless so far in this season’s Champions League losing 1-0 on matchday 1 to Olympiacos.

City sits top of their group following a 3-1 comeback win over Porto last week.

Opposite directions

 The stats tell us Marseille has struggled in the Champions League.

The French club hasn’t won a Champions League group match since they beat Internazionale 1-0 at home in the 2011-12 Round of 16.

City meanwhile has qualified for the knockout stage of this competition seven seasons in a row.

Match Info

 Kickoff from the Stade Velodrome is at 8 pm.

You can view the Marseille lineup here.

This is the list of players that Guardiola can pick from. (JSL)