Arsenal captain Robin van Persie was named as a substitute for this evening’s Champions League encounter with Marseille.

FT: Marseille 0 Arsenal 1

Nemanja Vidic has been forced to miss Manchester United’s Champions League last-16 clash with Marseille at Old Trafford after failing to recover from a calf injury.

IT said everything about his team’s performance that the most positive news for Alex Ferguson over the weekend came from across the English Channel.

MARSEILLE produced the performance of the night in the Champions League to boost their hopes of qualification.

CHELSEA can go into Sunday’s crucial Premier League game against Arsenal confident their first wobble of the season is over after easing to a routine 2-0 victory over Marseille in the Champions League last night to stay top of Group F and banish the memory of last weekend’s defeat at Manchester City.

Chelsea 2 Marseille 0

NICOLAS ANELKA has broken his silence on the fiasco of France’s World Cup and claimed he should not have been made the scapegoat for the team’s failings as it was his goal against Ireland in the qualifying play-off that helped Les Bleus reach South Africa.

France captain Patrice Evra and Florent Malouda were both banished to the bench for the vital Group A game against South Africa at the Free State Stadium.

THE Republic of Ireland may not be in South Africa but supporters of the Boys in Green will have savoured France’s defeat to Mexico last night, a result that leaves Raymond Domenech’s side staring at the prospect of saying an early ‘au revoir’ to the 2010 World Cup.

WILLIAM GALLAS fired a relieved France into the World Cup finals as a controversial winner shattered the Republic of Ireland’s brave resistance.

Giovanni Trapattoni kept faith with the men who ran France close on Saturday for tonight’s decisive World Cup play-off clash in Paris.

Republic of Ireland 0 France 1

Liam Lawrence was handed the task of shoring up the Republic of Ireland’s right flank in their World Cup play-off with France.

France midfielder Jeremy Toulalan remains a major doubt for Les Bleus’ World Cup play-off first leg against Ireland tomorrow.

IRISH fans had been hoping that French striker Andre-Pierre Gignac would be employing his Gaelic football skills by putting plenty over the bar at Croke Park tomorrow.

Defender Eric Abidal has urged France not to fall for the Republic of Ireland’s “provocation” on Saturday.

FRANCE’S first-choice front man André-Pierre Gignac suffered an injury scare during Toulouse’s 3-2 win against Rennes in Ligue 1 yesterday.

Faroe Islands 0 France 1