Real's Marseille test

Real Madrid players (L to R) Cristiano Ronaldo, Pepe, Kaka and Marcelo jog during a training session in Madrid on Tuesday on the eve of their Champions League match against Olympique Marseille.Photo: AFP

Spanish league leaders Real Madrid welcome Marseille to the Bernabeu on Wednesday night for their first home Champions League game of the campaign, as their quest for a tenth European Cup continues.
Real have won all five of their league matches to date as well as their European opener at FC Zurich and go into the Marseille game looking for a seventh successive win.
"If we beat Marseille it would help to put some distance between us and our rivals in the group, although it is still going to be complicated," said midfielder Xabi Alonso, a summer signing from Liverpool.
"We have Marseille and then Sevilla (on Sunday), which are two important games for us to continue progressing."
Marseille lost their first group match 2-1 at home to AC Milan and crashed 3-2 at Valenciennes on Saturday to further dent confidence ahead of the testing trip to the Spanish capital.
"Of course, it's not ideal to lose at Valenciennes before having to go to Madrid," said Marseille coach Didier Deschamps, who won the inaugural Champions League trophy in 1993 as captain of the French side.
"Real have talent in every position and they have so many players that can make a difference."
Real coach Manuel Pellegrini had over 110 million euros worth of talent on the bench against Tenerife on Saturday, with Brazil's 2007 Ballon d'Or winner Kaka joined by Mali midfielder Mahamadou Diarra as well as Argentine internationals Gonzalo Higuain and Ezequiel Garay.
Cristiano Ronaldo, the world's most expensive player, was angry at being substituted in the 77th minute of the 3-0 victory over Tenerife but Pellegrini played down the significance of the incident with the Portuguese star.
"I don't see it as a big thing," said the Chilean boss. "No player likes being substituted but I do the best for the team and the game was over. I don't think there is a problem."
Competition is certainly fierce at Real after the rekindling of their Galacticos recruitment policy but one player who has thrived is French striker Karim Benzema.
The 35 million-euro close-season recruit scored a coolly-taken brace against Tenerife and as a former Lyon player, he will be familiar to Marseille.
Pepe, back playing after serving a ten-match suspension for an assault on Getafe's Javier Casquero in April, warned of the threat posed by Marseille and singled out his old Porto team-mate Lucho Gonzalez as the main dangerman.
"I know several of their players and they are all very good," explained Pepe. "Many of them played for Porto and I also know Lucho Gonzalez. They are a dangerous team, but Real Madrid must always seek the three points."
Marseille recently snapped up Real old boy Fernando Morientes on a free transfer and the 33-year-old forward can expect a warm reception from the Bernabeu crowd, having won three Champions League titles with the club in six trophy-laden seasons.
Argentine Gabriel Heinze, 31, is another former Real player returning to Madrid, having been deemed surplus to requirements by Pellegrini in the summer.
Marseille, fourth in the French league, were poor travellers in the Champions League last season and lost all their away group matches to Atletico Madrid, PSV Eindhoven and Liverpool.