Mathieu Valbuena & the five Marseille stars who could end Claudio Ranieri's Inter reign in the Champions League

Signed on a free transfer from Lorient last summer, it took Amalfitano a period to find his feet in Marseille, but he’s since played an important role in propelling them up the Ligue 1 standings.

Though the attacking midfielder lacks pace, he has great guile and his delivery into the box from wide areas is often exemplary, and as such he can be a real menace to opposing defences if left unchecked.

Such has been the improvement in the 26-year-old’s play in recent weeks, there is increased talk of a potential France call-up, though there is still a lack of top-level experience in his game. Against Inter, he has the chance to prove he can compete with the very best.

Having scored only once this season, Amalfitano would certainly like to improve his goals-to-games ratio, as he has mustered at least five league strikes in each of the last couple of seasons, but he is now starting to realise his full potential as an offensive catalyst to OM.

2011-12 STATS Age 26 Position Attacking midfielder Nation France Appearances 31 Goals 2 Assists 8

Out of favour and out of form to such an extent this time last year that he was sent on loan first to Cruzeiro and then to Gremio, the industrious Brazilian attacker has returned to France with a bang.

Although the work-rate of the 31-year-old could never be questioned, his effectiveness in front of goal certainly could be, but his spell in South America seems to have rejuvenated him in that respect, despite mediocre scoring figures during his spell back home.

A goal against Le Havre in the Coupe de France capped a fine individual performance, and the newly-confident attacker quickly followed this up with strikes against Nice and Olympique Lyonnais.

He’s really become the focal point of the attack since Remy’s injury, and the decision of Didier Deschamps to leave him on the bench last weekend proved costly, as in his short spell on the park he nearly produced a winning goal in the 1-1 draw against Valenciennes, hitting the post with a deft header.

The only remaining black spot for the striker is a charge of alleged sexual assault still hanging over his head.

2011-12 STATS Age 31 Position Striker Nation Brazil Appearances 7 Goals 5 Assists 0

Marseille’s last line of defence may be France’s second-choice goalkeeper at present, but over the course of the season so far, his performances have probably eclipsed those of Lyon colleague Hugo Lloris, who is currently in command of les Bleus’ gloves as Euro 2012 approaches.

Mandanda has been a colossus in goal, keeping his shot-stopping at a high level, but also improving his command of the penalty area, showing a greater willingness to collect crosses into the box and marshalling his defence with increasing confidence.

At just 26, he is one of the most established players at Marseille, and has been given the captaincy regularly this season as a result. Against Inter, he will be expected to lead from the back.

A strong performance in a 3-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain should be Mandanda’s reference point, and another imposing display on Wednesday would see OM take a significant step towards a first-leg advantage.

2011-12 STATS Age 26 Position Goalkeeper Nation France Appearances 33 Goals 0 Assists 0

When Cameroon international defender Nicolas Nkoulou was acquired from Monaco in the summer, it was anticipated that the 21-year-old would be a back-up in his first season at Stade Velodrome, but injury problems early in the campaign meant that the youngster was thrust straight into the starting XI.

After a difficult campaign with les Monegasques, Nkoulou responded excellently when thrown into the cauldron in Provence, and has been Marseille’s most consistent defender to date this season. He reads the match like a far more experienced player, and on the occasions he has been caught, he’s had the pace and technique to recover his ground.

Inter will provide arguably the sternest test of the player’s career to date, but he’s stood up impressively for Didier Deschamps previously and should be backed to do so once again on Wednesday.

2011-12 STATS Age 21 Position Centre-back Nation Cameroon Appearances 30 Goals 0 Assists 0

A whirlwind of an offensive midfielder, who is liable to be stationed in a role behind the attackers that allows him to drift either right or left making him difficult to pin down, Valbuena has been one of the main reasons the injured Loic Remy has been so successful this season.

He enjoys a great understanding with OM’s leading scorer, but he should not be considered ineffective without his regular partner in crime, as he has created a league-high 11 goals in France this season, three more than Jeremy Menez, who sits second in that statistic.

His set pieces will be a particular source of concern to the Italians, as these have been responsible for seven OM goals in Ligue 1 this term, while his individual brilliance was what allowed Marseille to progress beyond the group stages as he scored a memorable winning goal against Borussia Dortmund to complete a comeback from 2-0 down.

Valbuena had been in something of a flunk before that moment, but since then he’s been virtually unstoppable.

2011-12 STATS Age 27 Position Attacking midfielder Nation France Appearances 31 Goals 8 Assists 12

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