Olympique Marseille vs Angers 26/01/20

26 January 2020

Olympique Marseille welcome Angers to the Orange Vélodrome looking to extend a three-game unbeaten run in the Ligue 1 (L1) home H2Hs (W1, D2).

The hosts have overseen great success over the past few months, picking up nine triumphs in their last ten L1 fixtures, with a 1-1 away draw with Metz being the lone exception. What’s more, Andre Villas-Boas’ men have not lost a single league game at the Velodrome since a 2-0 defeat to Reims in the L1 curtain-raiser, winning the last six such outings. Notably, each of Marseille’s previous five L1 home wins has seen them concede precisely one goal, with ten of 12 goals they’ve scored across those matches coming in the second half (83%). Les Phocéens now take on a side they’ve failed to beat in five of their previous seven top-flight H2Hs (D5), with four of those five draws in that period ending with the identical 1-1 scoreline.

As for the visitors, they’ve gone from three consecutive league defeats to three straight matches without a loss (W1, D2) to remain in contention for a top-four finish. Indeed, they sit only three points below fourth-placed Nantes, and that’s mainly thanks to a disastrous away form. Only 27% of their total L1 points have arrived on the road, with Les Scoïstes netting a miserly average of 0.77 goals per league away fixture so far this season. Furthermore, they’ve failed to keep a clean sheet in six of nine L1 road trips, conceding over 1.5 goals on five of those occasions. Interestingly, three of Angers’ last L1 away matches have all produced over 2.5 goals and witnessed both teams score (W1, L2), with two of those results (win/loss) seeing the winners on the day come from behind to clinch a victory.