A match against last-placed Montpellier on home turf is exactly what Marseille need after their collapse in recent weeks. A place in the Champions League is at stake and there is no more room for errors.
How is it possible to go from winning four out of five matches to losing four of the following five in just a month? Something is very wrong at Roberto De Zerbi's team and it is time he finds a solution. Marseille were almost certain to finish in the Top 3 until a few weeks ago.
Now, they start the round in third but losing again could send them all the way back to 7th. Champions League football is at stake here and Marseille couldn't have wished for a better opponent at this point in time.
Montpellier are one loss away from relegation, although it's been a certainty for a while. The team is in crisis and far from the level of the elite. With four wins in 29 rounds, Montpellier are riding a 10-match losing streak. More shockingly, they scored a single goal across those 10 rounds. The situation simply cannot be worse than it is right now.
How the bookies view it: Overwhelming home advantage
Montpellier are used to being the underdogs, but bookmakers gave the hosts a significant betting advantage. You can pick Marseille at 1/5, the draw at 6/1, or the visitors at 10/1.
Recent head to head: All about Marseille since 2018
While playing Montpellier has never been easy for Marseille, they have a significant advantage in the H2H stats. La Paillade have not won a match against Marseille since 2018. Since then, Les Phoceens have won eight times, while four meetings ended level.
Players to watch: Give Greenwood the ball
Mason Greenwood is loving his time in France, although he slowed down in recent weeks. But it is clear that the whole team is going through a crisis and mostly in defence. Greenwood should take advantage of facing the weakest defence in the league to score a goal or two and raise his spirits ahead of the tough final rounds. He scored a goal and provided an assist in the reverse fixture (0-5).
Probable line-ups
Marseille: Rulli, Murillo, Kondogbia, Lirola, Merlin, Hojbjerg, Rongier, Henrique, Harit, Rabiot, Gouiri
Montpellier: Lecomte, Bille, Kouyate, Omeragic, Sagnan, Sainte-Luce, Fayad, Savanier, Ferri, Pays, Coulibaly
Anything else catch the eye?
Marseille's defence has been almost absent in recent games. Les Phoceens conceded 12 goals in the last five Ligue 1 rounds. But this has to be the match where they keep a clean sheet in, as Montpellier are levels below them this season. La Paillade have scored only 22 goals in 29 games and, as we already mentioned, only one in the last 10 rounds.
And with an average of 2.0 goals scored per game at Stade Velodrome, we can definitely expect a lot more from Marseille than we've seen in recent weeks. They should take advantage of this fixture to regain their confidence, as dropping more points could send them far away from Champions League football.
This French Ligue 1 match between Marseille and Montpellier will be played on and kick off at 20:05. Check below for our tipsters best Marseille vs Montpellier prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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