Marseille will begin their quest for a first Ligue 1 title since 2009/10 as they travel to Roazhon Park on Friday night to take on Rennes in the Ligue 1 curtain raiser.
After finishing a disappointing eighth the season before, Marseille had a much-improved campaign last season under Roberto De Zerbi.
OM picked up 13 points from their final five Ligue 1 matches of last season, securing them second position in the Ligue 1 table, four points clear of third-placed Monaco, but some 19 points behind all-conquering PSG.
Rennes had a disastrous start to the campaign last season, as they picked up just 17 points from their opening 19 Ligue 1 contests (W5-D2-L12).
However, Les Rennais managed to win eight of their final 15 Ligue 1 clashes of the season (W8-D0-L7), meaning they ended the campaign in a relatively safe 12th, a disappointing 16 points outside of the European places.
How the bookies view it: Marseille favourites
Marseille have been installed as favourites to claim all three points in their Ligue 1 opener, with Boylesports pricing them at 20/23.
The same firm has Rennes at 23/10 to begin their campaign with a win, whilst the draw is 13/5.
Head to head: Marseille dominance last term
Marseille won both of the meetings between these two in the French top flight last season, winning 1-2 at this venue at the start of the year, and 4-2 at home on the final day of the season to clinch second spot, and helped land our man Gabriel a full-house of winners.
Players to watch: More goals for Greenwood?
Mason Greenwood had an excellent first campaign for Marseille, scoring 21 goals in Ligue 1. The ex-Manchester United frontman scored in both meetings with Rennes last season, including a brace on the final day of last season, and is an appealing 11/8 at BoyleSports to bag here.
Amine Gouiri departed Rennes for Marseille at the end of January and played a big part in helping Marseille secure second spot. The Algerian scored 10 times in Ligue 1 since his switch to OM, including six goals in the final four matches of last season, and is 7/4 at BoyleSports to net in his first return to Roazhon Park.
Predicted line-ups:
Ex-Marseille duo Quentin Merlin and Valentin Rongier are in line to make their Rennes debuts after leaving OM in the summer.
After a season in Saudi Arabia, veteran frontman Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang rejoins Marseille, and could join Mason Greenwood and Amine Gouiri in the front three.
Rennes: Samba, Faye, Jacquet, Rouault, Frankowski, Fofana, Rongier, Cisse, Merlin, Blas, Kalimuendo
Marseille: Ruili, Murillo, Medina, Balerdi Garcia, Hojbjerg, Gomes, Rabiot, Gouiri, Greenwood, Aubameyang
Anything else catch the eye?
Goals were a feature of Marseille’s matches last season, with their 34 Ligue 1 encounters averaging an eye-catching 3.56 goals per game, with Over 2.5 Goals paying out in 23 (68%) of them, including in eight of their past nine.
With Both Teams to Score also paying out in 23 (68%) of those matches, coupled with Rennes only failing to score in three of their Ligue 1 home clashes last term, the 10/11 on offer at BoyleSports for Both Teams to Score & Over 2.5 Goals appeals to me.
Marseille won both meetings with Les Rennais last season, scoring six goals in the process, and I also like the 4/5 on offer for OM to score at least twice here.
GambleAware