Preview: Marseille vs Auxerre – prediction, team news, lineups

The Ligue 1 weekend begins on Friday evening with an in-form player competing Auxerre Side drive to the face Roberto De Zerbi‘S Marseilles at the Stade Velodrome.

Marseilles moved up to second place last weekend, although home form has been shaky so far, while the visitors have recently risen sharply in the Ligue 1 standings thanks to some impressive results.

Game preview

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After their humiliating defeat at Le Classique against Paris Saint-Germain, it was essential for Marseille to bounce back straight away and they did just that with a 2-1 away win at Nantes last weekend.

A nice performance from Mason Greenwood l’OM took all three points away from home and took advantage of a weakening Monaco to move back into second place in Ligue 1.

Ultimately, the 3-0 defeat to PSG means a title claim seems unlikely with the champions already looking confident with a six-point lead, but Champions League qualification will represent good progress in De Zerbi’s first season as manager.

The Italian himself said that given this, it would be a pipe dream to fight for the title in his first season for the club Luis Enrique at PSG and Adi Hutter in Monaco had more time to form their respective squads.

Although De Zerbi is a newcomer to the league, questions are being raised about their poor home form so far, as the loss to PSG means they have only won one of their first five league games at the Velodrome.

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Only Angers and bottom-placed Montpellier have fewer points on home soil, and their form here is in stark contrast to away from home, where Marseille have won five of their six games so far.

The exact opposite is the case for Auxerre, as they were completely up in the air when comparing their home form with their away results.

Apart from the surprise 2-2 draw at Lyon in their last away game, Auxerre have lost all four of their other away games this season.

But at home, Christophe PelissierThe France team is one of the best in the division, having picked up 12 of their 13 points at the Stade de l’Abbe-Deschamps, including a phenomenal 4-0 win over Rennes last week.

Many believed their 3-0 win over Champions League rivals Brest would be the highlight of their season, but victory over Rennes already surpassed that and means they have now taken seven points from their last three games.

After being in the relegation zone just a few weeks ago, Auxerre has now moved up to 10th place, just a few points behind the European places.

There is no doubt, however, that this will be a very difficult evening for the visitors, against a side currently in second place, and a 2-1 defeat here last season means Auxerre now have six of their own has lost in the last eight visits to the Velodrome.

Marseille Ligue 1 form:

Auxerre Ligue 1 form:

Team news

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Marseille will be able to welcome you Amine Harit He has returned from suspension following his harsh sending off at Le Classique two weeks ago and is likely to return to the starting XI.

Harit’s offensive partner Greenwood increased his tally again last week and put him in the lead seven goals in Ligue 1 for the season, just one behind the current leader Bradley Barcola.

As for the injuries, Derek Cornelius was substituted just 15 minutes after coming on against Nantes last week and could miss out along with an injured trio Faris Moumbagna, Valentin Carboni And Ulisses Garcia.

Auxerre has a central defender crisis ahead of this clash, like both of them Jubal And Sinaly Diomande will miss this game due to suspension.

With Paul Joly And Ange Loic N’Gatta With him also out injured, Pelissier is left with very few options on defense. So if the coach wants to stick with his three-man chain, he is underutilized Theo Pellenard can be drafted, as can the former Luton Town defender Gabriel Osho.

Marseille possible starting lineup:
Rulli; Lirola, Balerdi, Brassier, Merlin; Kondogbia, Hojbjerg; Greenwood, Harit, Luiz Henrique; Rowe

Possible Auxerre starting lineup:
Leon; Osho, Akpa, Pellenard; Hoever, Owusu, Danois, Mensah; Perrin, Bair, Hamed Traore

We say: Marseille 3:1 Auxerre

Despite suffering from particularly poor form at home so far, Marseille will once again be big favorites ahead of this clash and will look to play earlier to reduce the gap to PSG.

Auxerre have not been going well so far this season and without two key defenders due to suspension, they could struggle to contain this formidable Marseille attack.

For data analysis of the most likely outcomes, scores and more for this game, please click here.

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