(AP Photo/Claude Paris)

Zurich has dreams of winning at Marseille

MARSEILLE, France (AP) After a surprise win at AC Milan, FC Zurich is hoping to repeat the feat when it takes on Marseille in the Champions League at Stade Velodrome on Tuesday.

Having won just one of its last four home games in all competitions, Marseille is going through turbulent times before hosting the Swiss champion.

The French club's hopes were dealt a further blow over the weekend when key playmaker Lucho Gonzalez twisted his ankle in a 1-1 draw against Toulouse. The Argentine midfielder has been ruled out for Tuesday's game and could be sidelined for up to four weeks.

Although Marseille spent nearly 40 million (US$58 million) on new players during the offseason, including former Real Madrid striker Fernando Morientes, club record signing Gonzalez and Argentina defender Gabriel Heinze, the club has failed to meet expectations, mainly because of a chronic lack of consistency.

"I know that people thought that Marseille was going to destroy the competition," coach Didier Deschamps said. "I know that people in Marseille are waiting for something big. But we've just lacked a little bit of luck so far."

Marseille, which won the inaugural Champions League in 1993 with Deschamps as its captain, has three points from as many games and lies third in Group C behind Milan and Real Madrid, which both have six points.

"The match against Zurich is very important," Cameroon midfielder Stephane Mbia said. "We need to win at home to put our performance against Toulouse behind us. We don't have time to complain, we need to react."

Zurich beat AC Milan 1-0 thanks to Hannu Tihinen's goal on Sept. 30 but has lost its two home games to leave it bottom of the group on goal difference.

Deschamps' team have played only once since last month's 1-0 win at Zurich while the Swiss team is on a three-game unbeaten streak.

"Marseille remains the big team and we're the small one," Zurich coach Bernard Challandes said. "We must not forget it, but we have the ambition or the dream of winning. We know that a victory could be a big step towards third place, which means an unthinkable dream is now a dream."

Zurich is wasting too many scoring opportunities to be a major threat in its 10-team league, where it stands fifth.

Twice in four days, it has dominated home league matches but taken just a point each time. Last Saturday, it trailed FC Sion after 19 seconds, then got a second-half equalizer from French forward Alexandre Alphonse.

"We have just lost four points in two matches," Challandes said. "What use is it to play well if the effectiveness doesn't follow? We can only blame ourselves."

Zurich's failure to take its scoring chances can be traced to the continuing absence of striker Eric Hassli and Switzerland midfielder Almen Abdi, who combined to score 36 goals last season.

Frenchman Hassli is out until next year after fracturing his left shinbone in training, while Abdi has an ongoing dispute with Challandes since refusing to sign a new contract.

Abdi was dropped for the home games last week against FC Basel and Sion after the club said his attitude to playing was not right.

Zurich left for Marseille Monday without Abdi, who is due to move to Udinese in Italy next season.

Updated November 2, 2009