8 Clubs Aiming For The Champions League Again

5. Marseille

Marseille's coach Marcelo Bielsa of Argentina shouts instructions at his players during a League One soccer match between Marseille and Monaco at the Velodrome Stadium, in Marseille, southern France, Sunday, May, 2015. (AP Photo/Claude Paris)
Claude Paris/AP

The only French team to ever win the Champions League will be competing in the Europa League this season, after finishing two points behind third placed Monaco last year. Les Olympiens haven't taken part in Europe's top competition since 2013, when they failed to pick up a single point, losing all six games and finishing bottom of the group. 

L'OM have a very difficult season of rebuilding ahead of them, after a large number of departures this summer. Imbula, Payet, Ayew, Gingac, Morel and Fanni have already moved on and yet more players could be leaving, with Florian Thauvin and Nicolas Nkoulou also being linked with moves away.

Only managing a fourth placed finish last season, after spending seven months at the top of the table, was a disappointment for Marcelo Bielsa's side, and it will only be more difficult this season, given the departures and financial difficulties. Add to that the competition from Paris Saint-Germain, Lyon, Monaco and even Saint-Etienne, it is difficult to see how Marseille will bounce back and compete.

 
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Journalism student at Teesside University. Taking football way too seriously.