Prediction: Marseille vs Montpellier

Prediction: Marseille win

Best Odds: 4/9

Bookmaker: 888sport

Following on from a two-week international break, club football is set to return across the globe this weekend. Ligue 1 is one such league that will be back in action and it all starts on Friday night when Marseille go head to head with Montpellier. These two sides are pretty familiar with one another and given that they’ll be kickstarting the action, we imagine they will be eager to make a statement.

Marseille

Marseille’s reign of terror in France ended a long time ago but in the present day, they’re certainly still a team to watch. They have one of the most well-rounded squads in the league and in their current form, they are the closest challengers to Paris Saint-Germain in the title race. There’s still a decent gap between the two but if they can keep on racking up wins, the champions may start to feel the pressure.

Team News

Balerdi is suspended for this one with Kolasinac reportedly out of action due to a recent groin strain.

Montpellier

The days of Montpellier being a consistent force within the context of French football are gone (for the time being, at least). Their poor start to the campaign has left them in the bottom half and although there’s time for them to turn it all around, things are getting competitive at the top. They’ve been on a solid run and there are talented players within their squad, yet there are still plenty of questions.

Team News

Maouassa, Esteve, Tchato, Leroy, Bertrand and Sainte-Luce are all tipped to miss out through injury here with Ferri being on the shelf due to a suspension.

Factors to Consider

• In their last meeting back in January, Marseille beat Montpellier 2-1.
• Marseille have won three, drawn two and lost one of their last six games.
• Montpellier have won five and drawn one of their last six games.
• Marseille have scored 10 goals and conceded 10 in their last six games.
• Montpellier have scored 13 goals and conceded two in their last six games.

Conclusion

The visitors are the ones who have the better form record coming into this one and we do think they’ll serve as tough opposition. Even with that being the case, though, we’re just not sure they’ll be able to keep up their efforts over the course of 90 minutes. Marseille have plenty of strong attacking options and we just think they have a psychological edge over Montpellier, which is why we’re backing the hosts to win.

Prediction: Marseille win

Best Odds: 4/9

Bookmaker: 888sport