OUR man in France is Julien Laurens and he's casting his eye over the Sunday night meeting of Marseille and Toulouse.
Julien is a London-based sports correspondent for Le Parisien and a veritable French football expert. He writes in French and English for a number of esteemed publications and appears on BT Sport's European Football Show every Sunday as well as contributing to unibet.
Marseille v Toulouse (8pm)
After two really bad games lost (6-1 and 3-1) against Monaco and Rennes, Marseille bounced back with two wins against Konyaspor (1-0) in the Europa League and away at Amiens (2-0) in the league last weekend.
It was better in terms of result but the content was still not great. The team is back at home in the league and will feel the pressure of the fans in a half empty stadium. They are still disappointed by the average performances so far. L’OM are 6th in the table with only 10 points in six league matches. Their goal difference is -1 as well!
The club bought striker Kostas Mitroglou from Benfica while he was injured and he still is. He is out for this game so Valère Germain will continue on his own up front. Manager Rudi Garcia has changed his formation from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1 with Clinton Njie on the left-hand side and Dimitri Payet in the centre.
Morgan Sanson was dropped in Amiens but could come back. Patrice Evra, so poor so far this season, should remain on the bench though. Marseille have struggled at home this season with just one win, one draw and a loss but only five goals scored and four conceded too.
On the other hand, Toulouse, currently 13th in the table, are yet to win away from home this season anyway. They got beaten twice, including in Paris and got a draw. However, they will fancy their chances in Marseille. They got three draws out of their last four league visits at the Vélodrome. Overall, they have only scored eight goals in their six league games so far this season. They struggle offensively and Andy Delort, their striker and best player, has only scored once this season. They have the assets to trouble Toulouse on Sunday but I still think Marseille will win.
Julien's Tips
- Correct score: Marseille 2, Toulouse 1 (7-1, Unibet)
- First scorer: Clinton Njie (5-1, Unibet)
- Best bet: Marseille win and both teams to score (11-5, Unibet)
