Marseille´s Ziani out of UEFA Cup match

Marseille midfielder Karim Ziani will miss Thursday’s home UEFA Cup match against Ajax after injuring his groin, coach of the first division club, Eric Gerets, said.

Gerets added he would also be rotating his squad in view of their crunch French league match against Paris Saint Germain on Sunday.

“I’m not in the habit of thinking about the following match, but, realising that several players are returning from injury, some might have problems playing matches so close together,” Gerets said.

About 500 police will be on hand to keep tabs on possible disturbances among the 30,000 spectators, of which 600 from the Netherlands are expected for this Round of 16, first leg match.