A pair of sides with European aspirations next season will square off in Ligue 1 action on Saturday, as Marseille welcome Monaco to Stade Velodrome.
In their previous league fixture, Les Olympiens settled for a 1-1 draw with Strasbourg, putting them three points behind Lille for a spot in Europe and six behind Les Monegasques, who dropped to fourth, losing 3-1 against Reims.
Match preview
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Since late November, Marseille have consistently got results, though they have yet to progress much up the Ligue 1 table.
They have only suffered two defeats in their previous 11 matches in all competitions, and one of those losses was in a shootout at the Coupe de France last Sunday (9-8 versus Rennes).
Gennaro Gattuso has seen his side earn points in seven successive league contests, and yet they only have 28 points entering the middle of the domestic campaign, 11 fewer than they managed after 18 matchdays a season ago.
Since the beginning of the 2023-24 Ligue 1 campaign, Marseille have failed to win four matches when netting the opening goal, equating to nine points dropped, which could have them in second place.
Marseille are unbeaten in their 13 competitive fixtures this season at Stade Velodrome, a first for this side since 1998-99, when they wound up second behind Bordeaux.
Les Phoceens are one of only six sides in the French top flight this season who have conceded fewer than 20 goals thus far (19), but they have struggled to keep Les Monegasques off the scoresheet, conceding at least once in 13 successive home fixtures against them.
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Monaco began the 2024 domestic campaign poorly, conceding multiple goals in a top-flight encounter for the first time since matchday 13 (5-2 defeat versus Paris Saint-Germain).
With two defeats in their last three Ligue 1 affairs, Adi Hutter has seen his side go from being in a solid top-three position, which comes with an automatic Champions League group stage berth, to one currently just two points above Lille for a qualifying place in that competition.
Being away from home might be the best thing for them right now, with Monaco losing consecutive league fixtures at Stade Louis II but winning back-to-back domestic encounters as the visitors.
If you include the Coupe de France, they are unbeaten in four successive competitive fixtures away from home, scoring multiple goals in each of those matches.
Their title aspirations have taken a hit, currently 10 points back of Paris Saint-Germain, but they are just a point behind Brest for a place in the Champions League group phase and have not suffered consecutive defeats all season.
Since returning to the top flight in 2013-14, Les Monegasques have had no trouble finding the back of the net against Marseille, scoring more goals versus Les Olympiens (44) than any other Ligue 1 side over that span while losing only one of their previous eight competitive games at Stade Velodrome.
Team News
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Marseille will be missing numerous players because of the Africa Cup of Nations, with Pape Gueye (Senegal), Ismaila Sarr (Senegal), Iliman Ndiaye (Senegal), Amine Harit (Morocco) Azzedine Ounahi (Morocco), Chancel Mbemba (Congo) and Simon Ngapandouetnbu (Cameroon) all representing their respective national teams.
Their lone goalscorer on matchday 18, Samuel Gigot, will have to sit this game out with a yellow card suspension, Bilal Nadir has a cruciate ligament tear, Joaquin Correa is dealing with a sore ankle and Valentin Rongier will not play because of a broken kneecap.
Jordan Veretout had their only goal in their Coupe de France encounter with Rennes last weekend, while their leading scorer in the top-flight, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, has not found the back of the net in Ligue 1 since notching a brace versus Lorient last December (4-2 win).
There are five Monaco players on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations, including Mohamed Camara (Mali), Krepin Diatta (Senegal), Ismail Jakobs (Senegal), Mohammed Salisu (Ghana) and Wilfried Singo (Ivory Coast), while Takumi Minamino is at the Asian Cup with Japan.
Eliesse Ben Seghir is expected to return from his shoulder issue in early February, Eliot Matazo is dealing with muscle soreness, while Caio Henrique and Breel Embolo are out with cruciate ligament tears.
Wissam Ben Yedder has seven goals in his last four competitive fixtures, including a hat-trick in their 3-1 triumph over Rodez at the Coupe de France, Folarin Balogun notched his first goal with Les Monegasques in their earlier meeting with Marseille, when Maghnes Akliouche netted twice in a 3-2 triumph.
Marseille possible starting lineup:
Lopez; Meite, Murillo, Balerdi; Clauss, Onana, Kondogbia, Veretout; Henrique; Vitinha, Aubameyang
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Kohn; Magassa, Maripan, Kehrer; Vanderson, Fofana, Zakaria, Boadu; Akliouche, Golovin; Ben Yedder
We say: Marseille 2-2 Monaco
Both sides have plenty of quality attacking pieces to count upon, and with many players away for each on international duty, we expect plenty of opportunities both ways.
Strikers like Aubameyang and Ben Yedder do not miss their chances often, and we believe they will each have their share of them on Saturday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
