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

The final Ligue 1 fixture this weekend will see Marseille aiming to maintain their top-three standing in the table when they welcome Monaco to Stade Velodrome on Sunday.

Both sides suffered 1-0 defeats on matchday 15, with OM falling down to third with their loss at Lille, and the Principality club now seventh after being beaten by Brest.

Match preview

Domestically, Marseille have not done themselves many favours recently, dropping points in back-to-back league games when first place was within reach.

Instead of being at the top of the table, they find themselves five points below Lens for the league lead after 15 matchdays and in danger of going winless in three straight top-flight games for the first time since March.

Roberto De Zerbi’s team will finish out the Ligue 1 year at home, where they have yet to lose domestically this season, claiming maximum points in five of those seven outings.

Marseille have been a real force in the attacking third at the Velodrome, netting three or more goals four times, while scoring a combined 23 goals at home in this competition.

Four times this season, they have conceded the opening goal in a top-flight fixture and found a way to earn points, twice on home soil.

Les Olympiens are unbeaten in their previous three home contests versus Monaco, coming back to beat them 2-1 in this exact fixture last season.

Similarly to Marseille, Les Monegasques have struggled to find consistency in Ligue 1 during the winter months of 2025.

Sebastien Pocognoli’s men have not won consecutive matches in this competition since October, but will enter this weekend on a positive note after defeating Galatasaray in Champions League action on Tuesday (1-0).

Monaco have dropped points in three successive away matches across all competitions, suffering two straight defeats as the visitors in Ligue 1.

Dating back to the previous campaign, the Principality side have given up at least one goal in 11 consecutive away matches domestically, with just one competitive clean sheet this season outside Stade Louis II, defeating Bodo/Glimt 1-0 in the Champions League.

Their inconsistency has them currently on the outside of the European places, though heading into matchday 16, only one point is separating them from Lyon for a spot in the Europa League qualifying phase next season.

Les Monegasques have points in four of their last five league battles with Marseille, but they have not beaten them at the Velodrome since 2022 (1-0).

Marseille Ligue 1 form:

Marseille form (all competitions):

Monaco Ligue 1 form:

Monaco form (all competitions):

Team News

Marseille could be without Ruben Blanco once again as he recovers from a sore knee, while striker Amine Gouiri remains doubtful with a back issue.

Facundo Medina has an ankle problem, Hamed Traore is doubtful with a leg injury, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang might be available for one more match as the Africa Cup of Nations gets set to begin next week.

On the Monaco side, Eric Dier is questionable with a calf strain, Ansu Fati and Christian Mawissa are dealing with hamstring injuries and Jordan Teze is out due to a yellow card suspension.

Denis Zakaria and Thilo Kehrer are eligible to return to the lineup on Sunday, having both missed their defeat at Brest through suspension.

Marseille possible starting lineup:

Rulli; Pavard, Balerdi, Aguerd; Weah, Nadir, Vermeeren, Palmieri; Greenwood, Paixao; Aubameyang

Monaco possible starting lineup:

Hradecky; Vanderson, Kehrer, Salisu, Henrique; Camara, Zakaria; Akliouche, Minamino, Golovin; Balogun

We say: Marseille 2-2 Monaco

These two teams have played some memorable games against each other over the years, and we expect to see another classic, though the inconsistency of each domestically of late has us struggling to pick a winner.

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