Marseille travel to Lorient in Ligue 1 on Sunday fresh off the back of a memorable Derby des Olympiques thrashing in midweek.
Gennaro Gattuso recorded his finest result in the Marseille dugout, beating Lyon 3-0 on Wednesday to move them closer to the European places.
Match preview
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Form for Marseille is getting noticeably better the longer Gattuso is given to settle in, as a third straight win came their way on Wednesday.
After seeing his 2006 World Cup winning teammate Fabio Grosso sacked by Lyon last week, Gattuso handed his temporary replacement Pierre Sage a bruising night at the Velodrome as Marseille thumped their bitter rivals.
That victory means OM have won six and drawn three of their last 11, with 1-0 losses away to Lens and Nice the only blips since late September.
Marseille are back on the road this weekend after three straight home games, though, as three of their final four games of 2023 will be away from the Velodrome.
Those three home games brought great success, recording three straight wins in thrilling fashion - 4-3 versus Ajax, 2-0 over Rennes, and the big derby win against Lyon.
The win in the rearranged clash with Lyon moved Marseille up to eighth, just six points adrift of the top four, but as one of the most in-form teams in France, that gap could continue to get shortened.
Improving away form is a must though, because OM are still winless in their last 10 domestic matches on the road, dating back to another win against Lyon, at the Groupama Stadium in mid-April.
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Lorient are fighting at the other end of the table, and enter the weekend in the relegation playoff place.
Clermont, who are two points below Lorient, face Lille earlier in the day before Regis Le Bris's side take to the field, so the manager may be keeping a close eye on that encounter to see whether they slip into an automatic relegation spot.
Form has not been excellent, so the hosts may look for favours from elsewhere to keep them out of the bottom two, as they needed a stoppage-time Bamba Dieng goal to salvage a point against an out-of-form Toulouse side last weekend.
That draw has extended Lorient's winless run to five matches, as they have just two wins to their name so far this season, but both of those victories came here at home, as three-quarters of Lorient's 12 points have been won at the Stade du Moustoir.
Team News
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Lorient's lengthy injury list continues to hold them back, with Loris Mouyokolo and Igor Silva both notable absentees in defence.
The problems have mounted up in midfield too, with Quentin Boisgard, Aiyegun Tosin and Ayman Kari all set to miss out once more.
Dembo Sylla remains sidelined too, despite featuring for Guinea during the international break in November, so with options depleted, Le Bris may remain largely unchanged.
Iliman Ndiaye's red card for Marseille was not damaging against Rennes last weekend, as they still hung on for a 2-0 win, and his absence was not felt in the midweek thrashing of Lyon.
However, Gattuso will be without the Senegalese forward for another two games, and his goal threat will be missed on the road.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will look to continue his superb form to cover for Ndiaye's absence, as a goal and two assists on Wednesday added to a goal versus Rennes and a hat-trick against Ajax.
On the injury front, Joaquin Correa remains out injured after a tackle from Ajax's Steven Berghuis left him needing a protective boot around his ankle, while Valentin Rongier recently underwent knee surgery, which is set to keep the midfielder out until February at the earliest.
Lorient possible starting lineup:
Mvogo; Kalulu, Laporte, Talbi, Yongwa; Faivre, Abergel, Bakayoko, Makengo; Doucoure, Kroupi
Marseille possible starting lineup:
Pau Lopez; Clauss, Gigot, Mbemba, Renan Lodi; Veretout, Kondogbia, Ounahi; Sarr, Aubameyang, Harit
We say: Lorient 1-2 Marseille
Lorient have not beaten Marseille at any venue since a barnstorming 5-3 victory back in 2015, and not at home since early 2012, while recent form also suggests the odds are stacked against them.
While Marseille have been extremely poor on the road in Ligue 1, a first win of the season away from home cannot be too far away given their upturn in fortunes under Gattuso, and this could be the place to get it.
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Top tip
Andrew Delaney
