Two sides with aspirations of a top-three finish in Ligue 1 prepare for battle at the Orange Velodrome on Saturday evening, as Marseille face off against Lens.
The hosts fell to a 1-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in Le Classique last weekend, while Franck Haise's side secured victory by the same scoreline against Montpellier HSC.
Match preview
© Reuters
Even with the ongoing off-field drama encompassing PSG, getting one over the champions in their Parisian backyard was a step too far for Marseille, who lost 1-0 to the league leaders to drop out of the top three entirely.
Neymar poked home off the post after receiving the ball from Kylian Mbappe in the second minute of first-half injury time to settle a tight contest, one in which Les Olympiens' hopes of launching a fightback were dashed when Samuel Gigot saw red with 18 minutes remaining.
That loss to the champions actually represents Marseille's second defeat on the bounce in Ligue 1 after their shock 2-1 loss at home to Ajaccio earlier this month, and that sticky patch has seen Marseille fall out of the Champions League spots into fourth place in the table.
Six points now separates Les Olympiens from runaway leaders PSG, as Lorient and Lens - both of whom were only promoted back to the big time in 2020 - jostle for second and third spot for the time being.
Scoring in all six of their home games in the 2022-23 Ligue 1 season should set Marseille up well for a meeting with a podium rival, but failure to keep a clean sheet in three home matches represents a frailty that Lens will need no second invitation to exploit.
© Reuters
If a painful derby defeat to Lille soured the mood around the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, the news that manager Franck Haise had signed a contract extension until 2027 certainly lifted the spirits of the Sang et Or faithful, who witnessed their side return to winning ways against Montpellier.
Substitute Wesley Said took advantage of a rare mistake from Paillade captain Teji Savanier to break the deadlock in the 67th minute, but Lens still had to rely on a slice of defensive excellence to hang on to their one-goal lead, as Kevin Danso cleared Faitout Maouassa's goal-bound header off the line not long after.
Lens and low-scoring affairs have gone hand-in-hand this term, as last week's game marked the fourth fixture from five where Les Sang et Or were involved in a 1-0 scoreline - the outlier in that sequence was a goalless stalemate away to Nantes.
While they have hardly lit up the league in attacking proficiency recently, Lens' staunch rearguard action has elevated them to third in the table - one point above Marseille and two behind surprise package Lorient - but their away form is not the reason for their sustained progress.
Indeed, Haise's side are winless in three on the road since thumping Monaco 4-1 at the Stade Louis II back in August, but Lens did get the better of Marseille 3-2 at the Orange Velodrome last term before Les Olympiens exacted revenge with a 2-0 win in January.
Team News
© Reuters
Marseille centre-back Gigot has been hit with a two-game ban following his red card in Le Classique, but he was only a substitute in that game anyway, with Leonardo Balerdi, Eric Bailly and Chancel Mbemba linking arms at the back. Jonathan Clauss will also line up against his old club from the right flank.
However, Bailly left Le Classique before half time with a recurrence of a thigh problem, but Tudor will give the Ivorian every chance to prove his fitness as he works around a mini-crisis at the back.
Sead Kolasinac represents Marseille's only other injury concern as the ex-Arsenal man continues to nurse a thigh injury, and Tudor should be reluctant to make significant alterations here, but Amine Harit's spot in particular is at risk.
The 25-year-old could not replicate his strong showing against Sporting Lisbon in Le Classique, and his spot is now under threat from Gerson, Cengiz Under and Dimitri Payet, the latter of whom was an unused substitute against PSG as his struggles continue.
As for Lens, Jonathan Gradit's broken collarbone is unlikely to heal up for another week, while Jimmy Cabot has now joined Wuilker Farinez on the sidelines with a serious knee injury and will spend a while out after undergoing surgery.
Adam Buksa could be back from illness for Saturday's game, while Said and Massadio Haidara trained on their own on Thursday for unspecified reasons, but there is nothing to suggest that the duo will not be involved here.
Marseille possible starting lineup:
Lopez; Mbemba, Balerdi, Bailly; Clauss, Rongier, Veretout, Tavares; Under, Guendouzi; Sanchez
Lens possible starting lineup:
Samba; Haidara, Danso, Medina; Frankowski, Fofana, Abdul Samed, Machado; Sotoca, Said; Openda
We say: Marseille 1-1 Lens
Away days have not been Lens' specialities this term, and a Marseille side determined to bounce back from their Classique defeat and return to the top three at Les Sang et Or's expense are to be taken very seriously indeed.
While Marseille ought to have no trouble finding the back of the net at home, a lack of options in the heart of defence should leave Haise's side feeling confident about their chances of coming away with a well-earned point to their name.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
