Lorient will be looking to build on their impressive victory over Reims when they play host to Marseille at the Stade du Moustoir for Saturday's Ligue 1 clash.
In contrast, the visitors need to get back on track after succumbing to a 1-0 defeat to Olympiacos in the Champions League.
Match preview
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Lorient and Reims would have both been confident of nicking a win in their clash given the respective struggles the two sides have endured, but with Lorient ending the game with the advantage of two extra men, a win for Christophe Pelissier's side was hardly a surprise.
Moreto Cassama and Anastasios Donis were both given their marching orders for the hosts, who did actually go into the half-time interval 1-0 up thanks to Cassama's earlier effort, but Lorient ensured that they claimed all three points as Pierre-Yves Hamel, Yoane Wissa and Terem Moffi all netted in the second 45.
That much-needed victory at the Stade Auguste-Delaune has seen Lorient distance themselves from the drop zone in the fledgling Ligue 1 table, and Pelissier's men can also look forward to a relatively friendly meeting with basement side Dijon after their showdown with Marseille.
Despite languishing in 17th place heading into gameweek eight, Lorient certainly have little to worry about going forward as they have already notched up 12 goals thus far - a tally that only four sides can better after seven matches of the 2020-21 campaign.
It is never easy for a newly-promoted side to assert themselves in the big time and Lorient have certainly been handed a harsh welcome back to life in the top flight, and their chances of a third victory of the season against a Marseille side looking to go a fifth game unbeaten are slim to say the least.
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Marseille's first game back in the Champions League was a taxing journey to Greece to take on Super League champions Olympiacos, and Andre-Villas Boas's side were seconds away from travelling back to the Oranje Velodrome with a point to show for their efforts.
However, Les Olympiens suffered a cruel heartbreak as Ahmed Hassan won the game in injury time for the hosts - with the salt well and truly rubbed into the wounds as ex-Marseille stalwart Mathieu Valbuena was the one who provided the assist.
Marseille cannot dwell on that defeat as they must welcome Manchester City to France for next week's clash, but for now, Les Olympiens will simply endeavour to win back-to-back matches in Ligue 1 after their 3-1 trouncing of Bordeaux last time out.
Bordeaux are a team that have become renowned for their defensive solidity over the past few weeks, but Marseille became the first side this season to put three past Les Girondins courtesy of goals from Florian Thauvin, Jordan Amavi and an own goal from Pablo.
Marseille could break into the top five with a win should Lens and Nice both fail to take all three points against Nantes and Lille respectively, and Les Olympiens have only suffered one defeat in their last nine meetings with Lorient - including a 4-1 victory when the sides last met in 2017.
Lorient Ligue 1 form: LLLDLW
Marseille Ligue 1 form: WLDDDW
Marseille form (all competitions): LDDDWL
Team News
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Pelissier switched to a four-at-the-back system against Reims to accommodate for the loss of Vincent Le Goff, and the left-back is set to miss out once again here, meaning that Jeremy Morel should start against his former club.
Another veteran in Sylvain Marveaux missed out that victory last Saturday but has now returned to training, although the 34-year-old would struggle to find a way to break into the first XI.
One man who will be vying for a recall to the starting lineup is club-record signing Adrian Grbic, but it would be harsh to see Hamel or Moffi dropped from the attacking line after their goals against Reims.
As for Marseille, Dimitri Payet will serve the second of a two-game suspension this weekend and is set to be replaced on the left-hand side by Nemanja Radonjic.
Boubacar Kamara sat out the midweek loss to Olympiacos due to a suspension of his own but should come back into Villas-Boas's midfield here - most likely in place of Pape Gueye despite the 21-year-old's strong showing in Greece.
Villas-Boas has a big call to make up top, with Dario Benedetto yet to open his account for the campaign and Valere Germain waiting in the wings, but Benedetto is expected to be given the nod nonetheless.
Lorient possible starting lineup:
Nardi; Mendes, Laporte, Gravillon, Morel; Boisgard, Chalobah, Monconduit, Wissa; Moffi, Grbic
Marseille possible starting lineup:
Mandanda; Sakai, Gonzalez, Caleta-Car, Amavi; Kamara, Cuisance, Sanson; Thauvin, Benedetto, Radonjic
We say: Lorient 1-3 Marseille
Lorient will feel confident of breaching this Marseille defence given their recent goalscoring exploits, and the visitors have had little time to recover from their European disappointment. However, the visitors appear to be heading in the right direction in Ligue 1 and should do enough to take all three points in this game, but Lorient will not make it easy for them.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a draw or an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Draw/Away:data
Ben Knapton
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Marseille win with a probability of 41.29%. A win for Lorient had a probability of 31.36% and a draw had a probability of 27.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Marseille win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.67%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.49%) and 0-2 (7.66%). The likeliest Lorient win was 1-0 (9.84%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.92%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with an 11.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 0-1 win for Marseille in this match.
