Having both kicked off 2024 by advancing in the Coupe de France, Marseille and Strasbourg return to Ligue 1 duty with a clash at the Orange Velodrome on Friday night.
Les Olympiens edged past Thionville Lusitanos in the third round of the cup at the weekend, while Patrick Vieira's men made light work of Avoine OCC in a 4-0 romping.
Match preview
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In front of a 19,000-strong crowd at the Stade Saint-Symphorien - normally the home of Metz - fifth-tier Thionville were playing the role of party poopers perfectly against Marseille, who had no answer to the defensive might of their 'hosts' in the opening 45 minutes.
Gennaro Gattuso's side remained without the goal they craved on the hour mark too, but just a couple of moments later, a trademark Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang lob broke the Thionville resistance and presented Marseille with a safe passage into the fourth round.
A trip to Rennes now awaits Les Olympiens in the Coupe de France later this month, although few supporters would have been inspired by a one-goal win against an outfit four divisions below them in the French footballing pyramid, having witnessed a distinct lack of ruthlessness from their attacking charges for much of the contest.
However, the Orange Velodrome faithful revelled in a strong end to 2023 for their beloved side, who are on a six-game unbeaten run in the French top flight - taking 14 points from a possible 18 in that sequence - to sit sixth in the table, four points adrift of the top four.
Gattuso's troops were only able to glean a point from their battle with Montpellier HSC on December 20, but each of their last three Ligue 1 home games has ended in victory, and their defensive record on familiar territory is nothing short of magnificent; Les Olympiens have only conceded two Ligue 1 home goals in 2023-24 so far.
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Strasbourg also picked up where they left off at the close of 2023, albeit in far more merciless fashion against fourth-tier Avoine, whose hopes of a Coupe de France giant killing were virtually dashed when Kevin Gameiro and Moise Sahi Dion netted inside the opening 20 minutes.
While a slight lull in action soon followed, Dion's second of the contest in the 73rd minute put the tie to bed, before 18-year-old striker Mohamed Bechikh marked his senior debut with a late strike off the bench, capping off a near-perfect afternoon for Les Coureurs.
Perfection was also the name of the game for Strasbourg in their final three fixtures of 2023, which saw Vieira's side sink Le Havre, Lorient and Lille in successive Ligue 1 contests - prevailing 2-1 each time - to shoot up to ninth in the rankings, just four points behind their upcoming hosts.
Prior to the visitors' unforeseen revival, Vieira had overseen a miserable eight-game winless run in the top flight, but the Frenchman's charges remain permeable on the road; only against Metz have they kept a clean sheet on rival territory this season, shipping 13 goals away from home in total.
Furthermore, Strasbourg have gone winless in each of their last 10 meetings with Marseille in all tournaments since prevailing on penalties in the last 16 of the 2018-19 Coupe de la Ligue, although both contests between the two sides in the 2022-23 campaign ended level.
Team News
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Marseille's underwhelming display can be partially attributed to Africa Cup of Nations call-ups decimating their ranks, as all of Amine Harit, Pape Gueye, Ismaila Sarr, Azzedine Ounahi, Chancel Mbemba, Iliman Ndiaye and Simon Ngapandouetnbu are away with their countries for the next few weeks.
Gattuso will also be working without captain Valentin Rongier for the rest of the month as he recuperates from knee surgery, while Joaquin Correa should not take too much longer to recover from an ankle issue but is facing a race against time to be fit for Friday.
Senior options for change are extremely limited at the minute, but Pau Lopez is sure to return over Ruben Blanco in between the sticks, while Jonathan Clauss could potentially demote Renan Lodi to the bench, as was the case at half time against Thionville. New signing Jean Onana - captured from Besiktas - is in line for his second Ligue 1 debut, though.
While no fewer than seven Marseille players are competing for AFCON glory this month, Strasbourg only lost one of their troops to an international call-up, as defender Saidou Sow was summoned to the Guinea squad.
Vieira's rearguard ranks will be boosted by the return of Lucas Perrin from suspension, though, and no players reported any physical concerns after the beating of Avoine, but a trio of injury victims may not leave the treatment room just yet.
The luckless Lebo Mothiba will likely spend another few weeks recuperating from a new knee injury, while Thomas Delaine (knock) and Ismael Doukoure (ankle sprain) are in the infirmary too.
Marseille possible starting lineup:
Lopez; Meite, Balerdi, Gigot; Murillo, Onana, Veretout, Kondogbia, Clauss; Aubameyang, Vitinha
Strasbourg possible starting lineup:
Sels; Guilbert, Nyamsi, Perrin, Sobol; Diarra, Sissoko; Angelo, Gameiro, Deminguet; Dion
We say: Marseille 1-1 Strasbourg
Marseille and Strasbourg have developed an affinity for sharing the spoils in recent times, and given the hosts' plethora of international absentees, another one-pointer is not beyond the realm of possibility.
While Les Olympiens' defensive supremacy at home should still come to the fore, their remaining big-hitters left a lot to be desired against Thionville, and an in-form Strasbourg should back themselves to get something out of Friday's game.
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Top tip
Ben Knapton
