Olympique Marseille vs Monaco
Stade Velodrome, Marseille
Saturday, 12-12-2020 @7pm
A huge fixture in Ligue 1 will take place on Saturday as Marseille try to underline how they are taking this league season seriously and try to get a victory against a very good opponent.
Presently Marseille has the best form in the league with 5 wins from their last five games. Last weekend they beat Nimes away from home 2-0.
The club are in their best position for years because even though they are fourth and four points behind PSG, the league leaders they have 2 games extra to play over them.
So in Ligue 1 it is very good news for Marseille however they are out of Europe completely after another loss in the Champions League, this time a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City. It has been an awful experience for the club who have lost 5 of their six group games.
Of course the one advantage of being out of Europe does is that Marseille can fully concentrate on trying to wrestle the league from PSG’s hands.
Monaco are in 5th place and just 1 point behind their hosts, so a win could see them go past their opponents. Like Marseille Monaco were in superb form but last weekend that ended as they lost 2-1 at Lille who are in 2nd place.
Monaco have had a good season so far but away from home they are still struggling. The club have lost 4 from six games and on away form only they would be in 15th position.
The last time the teams met here the match ended 1-1. Marseille have scored 8 goals past Monaco in their last 3 league meetings. Since 2013 Monaco have only won once at Marseille.
Lens vs Montpellier
Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens
Saturday, 12-12-2020 @11pm
Lens come into this match in 8th place and have done much better than most would have expected of them.
They already have 21 points and look good for survival in a season where some would have predicted a struggle.
Last weekend the club beat Rennes 2-0 away which was a surprise result and even though they remain inconsistent they have proven this season that they can’t be taken lightly.
At home Lens have won 50% of their matches and have lost just once. The problem for them is that the defeat came in their last home match and in fact they haven’t won at home for their past 3 matches, this is a concern. At the same time surely it is only a matter of time before Lens turn around that form.
Montpellier are two points clear of Lens and in sixth place. Their 4 games in a row winning run came to an end last weekend as they were defeated against PSG at home. The club lost that game 3-1.
On the road has been good news for Montpellier who have won their last 3 matches in a row. Their last away game ended in a 1-0 win over Lorient and overall away from home they have lost just once and won 50% of their games.
The teams have not met each other since 2015 when Montpellier won 1-0. Four from the last six league meetings have ended under 2.5 goals. Lens have not beaten Montpellier when at home since 2010.
The other upcoming Ligue One fixtures this weekend
Sunday, 13-12-2020
-Nice vs Rennes @3pm
-Brest vs Reims @5pm
-Loreints vs Nimes @5pm
-Nantes vs Dijon @5pm
-Strasbourg vs Metz @5pm
-Lille vs Bordeaux @7pm
-PSG vs Olympique Lyon @11pm
Ligue One latest results
-Saint Etienne 0-0 Angers
