Sports Mole reviews Friday’s Ligue 1 match between Marseille and Auxerre, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
The Ligue 1 weekend begins on Friday evening, when in-form Auxerre travel to take on Roberto De Zerbi’s Marseille at the Stade Velodrome.
Marseille moved up to second place last weekend, despite a shaky home run so far, while the visitors have risen sharply up the Ligue 1 standings recently on the back of some impressive results.
Preview the match
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After a humiliating Le Classique defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, it was imperative that Marseille bounce back immediately, and they did so with a 2-1 win away to Nantes last weekend.
A brilliant effort from Mason Greenwood saw Loome pick up three points on the road, capitalizing on Monaco’s stumble to move back to second place in Ligue 1.
Ultimately, a 3-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain means the title looks unlikely, with the champions already looking six points clear, but Champions League qualification would represent good progress in De Zerbe’s first season.
The Italian himself said it would be a daydream to think about challenging for the title in his first season with the club, considering that Luis Enrique at Paris Saint-Germain and Adi Hutter at Monaco have had more time to shape their teams.
Although De Zerbe are a newcomer to the league, there are questions being raised about their poor home form so far, as the loss to Paris Saint-Germain means they have only won one of their first five league matches at the Stade Velodrome.
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Only Angers and bottom club Montpellier have fewer points at home, and their form here is in stark contrast to that on the road, with Marseille having won five of their six matches so far.
For Auxerre, quite the opposite is true, as they have been chalk and cheese when comparing their home form to results on the road.
Aside from a shock 2-2 draw with Lyon in their last away game, Auxerre have lost all four other matches on their travels this season.
Despite this, Christophe Pélissier’s side are one of the best teams in the division at home, taking 12 of their 13 points at Labe Deschamps, including a massive 4-0 win over Rennes last week.
Many thought their 3-0 win over Champions League rivals Brest would be the pinnacle of their season, but the win over Rennes actually surpassed that, and means they have now taken seven points from their last three matches.
Having been in the relegation zone just a few weeks ago, Auxerre have now climbed to 10th place, just a few points off the European places.
There is no doubt that this will be a very tough evening for the visitors, though, against a team that currently sits second, and a 2-1 defeat here last season means Auxerre have now lost in six of their last eight trips to the Velodrome.
Marseille French League 1 form:
Auxerre Ligue 1 format:
Team news
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Marseille will be able to welcome back Amine Harit from suspension following his harsh sending off in Le Classique two weeks ago, and he is likely to return to the starting line-up.
Greenwood, Harith’s strike partner, added to his tally again last week, taking him to seven Ligue 1 goals this season, just one behind current leader Bradley Barkula.
On the injury front, Derek Cornelius was forced off after only 15 minutes of his appearance against Nantes last week, and he may miss out alongside the injured trio of Faris Mombanya, Valentin Carbone and Ulises Garcia.
Auxerre is suffering from a crisis at centre-back ahead of this encounter, as both Gobal and Senali Diomande will miss this match due to suspension.
With Paul Joly and Ange Loic Ngata also out injured, this leaves Pellissier with very few options in defence, so if the manager wants to keep the back three, the under-used Theo Belenard could be included, in addition to the former player. Luton Town defender Gabriel Osho.
Marseille possible lineup:
Rolly. Lirola, Balerdi, Brasier, Merlin; Kondogbia, Hoiberg; Greenwood, Harit, Louise Henrique; Ru
Possible starting lineup for Auxerre:
Lyon; Osho, Akpa, Belinard; Hoover, Owusu, Danoa, Mensah; Beren, Ber, Hamed Traoré
We say: Marseille 3-1 Auxerre
Despite suffering particularly poor form at home so far, Marseille will be big favorites again heading into this encounter, and will look to capitalize on early action to close the gap on Paris Saint-Germain.
Auxerre have not traveled well so far this season, and without two key defenders due to suspension, they may struggle to maintain Marseille’s impressive attack.
To analyze data on most likely scores, scores and more for this match, please click here.
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