Marseille vs Nantes

Stade Velodrome forms the backdrop for a ‘David vs Goliath’ Ligue 1 clash between Marseille and Nantes.

Marseille’s dream of beating Paris Saint-Germain to the Ligue 1 title has evaporated in recent weeks, with three winless league outings from their last six (D1, L2) opening a gigantic 16-point gap. Furthermore, a humiliating 3-0 defeat at Auxerre a week ago knocked Les Olympiens down from a three-game winning league streak and allowed teams beneath them to reduce the distance. However, the impending home return should set Marseille up nicely for an immediate return to winning ways, considering they haven’t lost any of their last six home league games (W4, D2). Further confidence comes from their stellar run of seven victories from nine top-flight H2Hs (D2) since their last defeat to Nantes in 2020.

On the other hand, Nantes pulled off a precious 3-1 home win against Lens last weekend to end a two-game losing streak and steer further away from the bottom three. However, their Ligue 1 status is still in danger, with 16th-placed Le Havre only four points below. Therefore, Les Canaris are desperate to defy their disastrous traveling record this season which has seen them win just two of their 12 away league matches (D5, L5). On the bright side, they had gone unbeaten on three successive Ligue 1 travels (W1, D2) before a heavy 7-1 defeat at Monaco. Manager Antoine Kombouare could face another disappointing result here, given his underwhelming managerial record against Marseille (W4, D4, L22).