Preview: Monaco vs Marseille - prediction, team news, lineups

Matchday two of the Ligue 1 campaign concludes with a pair of arch-rivals aiming to remain perfect when Marseille visit Stade Louis II for a date with Monaco on Sunday.

Both sides came away with comfortable triumphs last weekend, with Les Monegasques blanking Le Havre 1-0 and Marseille thumping Strasbourg 4-0.

Match preview

A new era in the Principality has begun positively with Monaco winning their first Ligue 1 game and also advancing into the group stage of the Conference League in convincing fashion.

With another triumph on Sunday, Filipe Luis would become just the second manager of this club in the last decade to win his first two Ligue 1 matches in charge, with the other being Adi Hutter.

Monaco can end a two-match domestic winless run at Stade Louis II this weekend, and capture their first league victory at home since April versus Marseille (2-1).

Meanwhile, they can also win their home opener in Ligue 1 for a fourth successive occasion, without conceding a goal in those last three such matches.

Early into his tenure as Monaco boss, we have seen Luis give his players plenty of creative freedom, with their high press helping them generate the second-most big chances in the league (six) on matchday one.

Les Monegasques will seek a fourth consecutive Ligue 1 home triumph against Marseille on Sunday, netting a combined eight goals in those last three wins.

It could not have been a much better debut for Bruno Genesio on the Marseille bench, as the former Lille boss saw his side dominate Strasbourg from start to finish.

His aggressive approach was evident throughout the 90 minutes as his side boasted the second-most possessions won in the final third among Ligue 1 teams last weekend.

OM have won six of their last seven opening Ligue 1 matches but have not won their first two outings of a league campaign since 2020-21.

They have averaged three goals per match in six of their last seven Ligue 1 openers but have also dropped points in three of their last four league openers away from home.

Their potency in the attacking third has been less evident away from home, with the club netting a goal or fewer in seven successive domestic affairs outside Stade Velodrome, scoring just one goal on those last two occasions.

Les Phoceens can claim their first Ligue 1 victory at Monaco since 2022 on Sunday and avoid suffering consecutive top flight defeats against them in the same year for the first time since 2016.

Monaco Ligue 1 form:

Monaco form (all competitions):

Marseille Ligue 1 form:

Team News

Both Takumi Minamino and Mohammed Salisu are recovering from cruciate ligament tears and will be unavailable for Monaco this weekend, while Matthis Abline has a sore foot and Ansu Fati remains doubtful due to a calf strain.

Eric Dier’s 14th-minute strike on matchday one was enough to earn his side all three points as Lukas Hradecky made five stops for his first clean sheet of the new league campaign.

Marseille winger Igor Paixao played the full 90 minutes last weekend, but is reportedly close to signing in England, with Sunderland among those linked to him, and Quinten Timber is rumored to be joining Pierre Sage’s Crystal Palace.

Amine Gouiri has also drawn interest from other clubs, and the Algerian notched a brace on matchday one, with the other OM goals coming courtesy of Keyliane Abdallah and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

Monaco possible starting lineup:

Hradecky; Teze, Kehrer, Dier, Nazinho; Zakaria, Camara; Detourbet, Golovin, Idumbo; Biereth

Marseille possible starting lineup:

De Lange; Weah, Egan-Riley, Kondogbia, Palmieri; Gomes; Nnadi, Hojbjerg; Harit, Gouiri, Maupay

We say: Monaco 2-2 Marseille

These games are traditionally high-scoring affairs, and with both teams are in good form and showing plenty of resilience, we expect to see an exciting draw to conclude matchday two in Ligue 1.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.