Marseille vs Nantes
Orange Velodrome, Marseille
Saturday, 22-02-2020 @7:30pm
Marseille beat 3rd placed Lille last Sunday to extend their record to 14 wins in their last 18 games, just one loss has come in this time. Nantes are winless in their last six games and have a terrible away record with just two wins in their last nine on the road. Both teams have scored in four of the last five clashes between these sides as well as in eight of Marseille’s last eleven home games and three of Nantes’ last four outings.
Chelsea and Tottenham fans may remember André Villas-Boas from his rather uneventful time in the Premier League. He didn’t achieve much in that time but he has managed to get this Marseille side ticking in his first year in charge and they could be getting Champions League football as a result.
They got a massive win last Sunday against third-placed Lille as they came back from 1-0 down to eventually clinch the three points despite missing a penalty. It was an extremely difficult away fixture but another one that proved the resilience of this brilliant team that has lost just one of its last 18 matches, 14 wins have come in this time.
Marseille’s home form has also been pivotal to their success so far with them losing just one match at the Velodrome so far, this came on the opening day of the season.
They have won nine and drawn three in the twelve games since then and their attack has been allowed to flourish in these fixtures with 21 goals being scored. Just four clean sheets have come in this time though so they still have problems to iron out.
Nantes have a mammoth task here as they travel to the south coast. They are winless in their last six with draws against relegation battling Metz and Dijon coming in their last two games.
The canaries have generally been lauded for their steadfast defence but this hasn’t been the case in recent weeks with 13 goals hitting the back Alban Lafont’s net in the last six matches. However, there has clearly been a shift in mentality as they have also scored nine goals in this time which is rather uncharacteristic of them.
Nantes will be the away side for this one which could cost them as they have won just two of their last eight games on the road. These came against 14th placed Saint-Étienne and bottom club Nîmes but against tougher opponents like Rennes, PSG, Bordeaux and Strasbourg they have struggled.
However, it should be noted that Nantes’ recent switch of focus to attack has translated over to their away form as well. They have eight goals in their last four matches on the road and will pose Marseille a problem.
The other Ligue One fixtures this weekend
Saturday, 22-02-2020
-Lille vs Toulouse @10pm
-Dijon vs Monaco @10pm
-Strasbourg vs Amiens @10pm
-Angers vs Montpellier @10pm
Sunday, 23-02-2020
-Saint Etienne vs Reims @5pm
-Rennes vs Nimes @7pm
-PSG vs Bordeaux @11pm
Friday’s results
-Nice 2-2 Brest
-Metz 0-2 Lyon
