Olympique de Marseille must win against Porto in their Matchday 4 clash in Marseille if they are to avoid elimination - and fail to lose if they are to avoid setting the unenviable record of 13 consecutive defeats in the competition.
UEFA Champions League, Matchday 4
Group C
Orange Vélodrome, Marseille
Olympique de Marseille - FC Porto
- Kick-off at 21:00 CET (20:00 GMT)
André Villas-Boas's side currently have the competition's poorest record - three defeats in three matches, zero goal scored and seven conceded - and their future in it depends on how they fare against their coach's former club on Wednesday night.
Out of action for 19 days thanks to the international break and the postponement of their Ligue 1 Uber Eats Round 11 clash with Nice last weekend, Marseille need to find their rhythm and capitalise on the fact of playing at home - albeit behind closed doors - in order to prise themselves off the floor of Group C and go within three points of second-placed Porto.
Thauvin: 'When you play for OM, you can't accept that'
"In concrete terms, you have to have an ego, you have look at yourself in the mirror and not accept what has happened. Even if you have nothing left to play for, when you play at home you have to be proud of the work you've done. This hasn't been the case," said star forward Florian Thauvin after the 3-0 home defeat to Manchester City. "I find it hard to accept our performances and I even have a feeling of shame. When you play for OM, you can't accept that."
While Thauvin is a certainty to start, Dimitri Payet is a doubt for kick-off, with Villas-Boas possibly preferring a 4-4-2 with Pape Gueye on the left of midfield to a 4-3-3 with Payet on the left of the attack. In either scenario, however, Boubacar Kamara, Morgan Sanson - who scored a screamer in OM's narrow 1-0 win over Strasbourg - and Valentin Rongier will patrol the middle of the park.
Probable teams
Olympique de Marseille: Mandanda (c); Amavi, Balerdi, A. Gonzalez, Sakai; Gueye, Kamara, Sanson, Rongier; Benedetto, Thauvin
FC Porto: Marchesin; Sarr, Sanusi, Mbemba; Otavio, Oliveira, Corona, Ndiaye; Marega, Diaz