Tottenham fans will not be allowed in the city centre of Marseille ahead of Tuesday evening's Champions League fixture.
Spurs need to avoid defeat in Marseille to guarantee their place in the knockout stages of the tournament, but only a victory would be enough for the hosts to progress. Sporting and Eintracht Frankfurt face each other in Group D's other deciding fixture.
Former Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez, who is part of Marseille's squad for the crucial game, has already warned Antonio Conte's side he will take "great joy" in knocking them out of the Champions League and sending his current employers through.
As reported by L'Equipe, French police will stop the 2,000 travelling Tottenham supporters from accessing the centre of Marseille on Tuesday evening. The French club's ground - the Stade Velodrome - is located around four miles from the city centre.
A decree from the police of Bouches-du-Rhone strictly prohibits "any person claiming to be a Tottenham supporter or behaving as such" from roaming in the first, second, sixth and seventh subdivisions of Marseille. The ban was imposed on Monday afternoon.
Tottenham fans are expected to be escorted to the Stade Velodrome on coaches under the supervision of local police. Away supporters are advised not to be anywhere near the stadium without a police escort between 10am and midnight on Tuesday.
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Tottenham are the first English club to play a Champions League game in France since Liverpool fans were funnelled into tight queues and subjected to tear gas by police ahead of the final against Real Madrid in Paris in May. UEFA eventually apologised for the chaos.
Sanchez's "great joy"
Marseille forward Sanchez was keen to show his love for Tottenham's bitter rivals Arsenal ahead of Tuesday evening's big game. The Chile forward, 33, scored 80 goals for the Gunners between July 2014 and January 2018 before leaving them for Manchester United.
"I have great affection for Arsenal from my time there. I have some great memories with everyone at the club, especially the fans," said Sanchez. "Beating Spurs every time was a great joy. It was very special and those are memories that I hold dear to my heart.
"Every single player has motivation to play and win. We all want to bring the victory back. In the dressing room, there is a lot of passion. Playing in front of the fans with their atmosphere is super important and that will drive us on."
Sanchez has scored six goals in 14 games for Marseille since arriving from Inter Milan in the summer. He added: "We want to progress, and we are working to do so. I’m here to be victorious for the team, playing for the fans, that pushes us on.
"The football reminds me more of the English game due to the physicality but in certain matches maybe we lacked a certain mentality or luck but we are on a good run. I’ve been here three months, I’m really happy here. You see people out on the streets, the fans, everyone is so passionate and that’s why I’m here."
