Marseille will put their domestic unbeaten record at the Stade Velodrome at stake on Sunday when they host Clermont on matchday 16 of the Ligue 1 campaign.
Despite winning all three of their domestic encounters this month, Les Olympiens are currently sixth, defeating Lorient 4-2 last Sunday, while Clermont are second from bottom after playing to a 0-0 draw with Lille.
Match preview
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This week began disappointingly for Marseille, who missed an opportunity to qualify directly into the last 16 of the Europa League, conceding an 88th-minute winner and losing 1-0 at Brighton & Hove Albion.
While they are not out of that competition, having been relegated into the playoff round, the focus for this team will turn to the domestic campaign, where they have points in four successive fixtures.
For the moment, though, Gennaro Gattuso's side are outside of a European place next season, two points behind Brest for a spot in the Europa League group stage.
Their three victories domestically this month are as many as this side had managed in their 15 Ligue 1 affairs before that, while they have yet to lose a competitive fixture at the Stade Velodrome this season.
Les Phoceens have not conceded in their last six league contests at home, the longest run for them in the top flight since October-December 1998 (seven).
They have won three of four matches played all-time against Clermont in this competition, which translates to a 75% winning rate, the highest percentage for OM against a side currently in Ligue 1.
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Although Clermont still find themselves in a difficult predicament, CF63 are showing a few positive signs, collecting a point in two of their previous three league fixtures.
As things stand right now, they would be going down into Ligue 2, though one victory could change everything, with only three points currently separating them from Montpellier, who are 14th.
With a mere nine goals in this competition after 15 matchdays, Les Lanciers have scored fewer than anyone in Ligue 1 this season, failing to find the back of the net nine times in 2023-24.
Over half of the points collected by Pascal Gastien's men domestically this season have occurred away from home, though they have lost all of their road fixtures versus sides currently in the top half of the table.
Clermont lost their previous away contest against Brest (3-0) but have not suffered consecutive top-flight defeats as the visitors since August 2022 (two).
Les Lanciers have been shut out in three previous meetings versus Marseille in this competition, though their only triumph against them came at the Stade Velodrome during the 2021-22 campaign (2-0).
Team News
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Iliman Ndiaye has not seen the field domestically for Marseille since his expulsion versus Rennes, while Jonathan Clauss will miss this encounter because of a red card suspension.
Valentin Rongier is still recovering from knee surgery, while Joaquin Correa will not be back until late December because of an ankle injury.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has four goals in his last three league contests, notching a brace against Lorient, with the other strikes coming courtesy of Chancel Mbemba and Leonardo Balerdi.
Florent Ogier is the only question mark for Clermont this weekend, with the club captain currently dealing with an ankle injury.
We saw several new faces in the starting 11 for Les Lanciers versus Lille, with Mory Diaw, Neto Borges, Mehdi Zeffane, Jim Allevinah and Elbasan Rashani being the only players to keep their place in the opening lineup from matchday 14 to 15.
Not since late November have we seen CF63 find the back of the net in this competition, when Maxime Gonalons scored in a 1-1 draw with Montpellier.
Marseille possible starting lineup:
Lopez; Mbemba, Gigot, Balerdi; Murillo, Veretout, Ounahi, Kondogbia, Sarr; Aubameyang, Vitinha
Clermont possible starting lineup:
Diaw; Zeffane, Seidu, Pelmard; Allevinah, Keita, Gastien, Borges; Cham, Nicholson; Kyei
We say: Marseille 2-0 Clermont
Even though they lost in midweek, we expect Marseille to maintain their solid domestic form against a side in Clermont who have been unable to do much besides stay back and try to frustrate the opposition.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
