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

Strasbourg will aim to maintain their 100% home record in Ligue 1 when they host Marseille at Stade de La Meinau on Friday, with the latter seeking their first away victory of the new campaign.

After five matchdays, the club from Alsace are in a four-way tie for first, defeating Paris FC 3-2 the last time out, while OM are three points below them in sixth after a 1-0 triumph versus Paris Saint-Germain.

Match preview

Patience is a virtue, and that is a quality that has enabled Strasbourg to be in early contention for the league title, with their persistence eventually paying off.

That was the case for them last weekend, as they scored twice with fewer than 15 minutes remaining and managed to hang on despite a late surge from Paris FC.

All four of their match-winning goals in the French top-flight this season have come with fewer than 10 minutes remaining, with Liam Rosenior’s men accumulating twice as many points after five matchdays (12) as they had at this stage of last season (six).

In 2025, they have won 16 matches domestically, with only PSG doing better among Ligue 1 sides (18), while Strasbourg are two wins away from equaling their highest top-flight tally in a calendar year since 1996.

Nine of those Ligue 1 triumphs this year have occurred at Stade de la Meinau, where this team have yet to concede a domestic goal all season, giving them a chance to collect three successive clean sheets at home this weekend for the first time since February-April 2022 (four).

On Friday, Le Racing can claim consecutive home triumphs over Marseille for the first time in over 20 years, having won this exact fixture 1-0 last season.

The long wait is over as Marseille finally got the better of arch-rivals PSG on Monday, their first victory against them at the Stade Velodrome since November 2011.

Roberto De Zerbi’s men had just one shot on target and only 31% possession but extended their home winning run to seven matches in this competition.

Away from home, they have not been so successful, without a single point in two encounters this season, while winning just one of their previous eight Ligue 1 affairs outside the Stade Velodrome.

A defeat on Friday would mark the first time this team will have lost their opening three away contests in this competition since 2016.

Dating back to last season, OM have won four consecutive league fixtures when netting the opening goal, while they have yet to earn a point from a losing position.

Les Phoceens have earned points in 18 of their previous 19 Ligue 1 matches against Strasbourg but have not secured maximum points against them at Stade de la Meinau since 2021 (2-0).

Strasbourg Ligue 1 form:

Strasbourg form (all competitions):

Marseille Ligue 1 form:

Marseille form (all competitions):

Team News

In their victory over Paris FC, Strasbourg were missing Saidou Sow and Julio Encisco with knee injuries, while Sebastian Nanasi had a shoulder issue.

Meanwhile, Maxi Oyedele was dealing with a muscle issue, Abakar Sylla sat out with a knock and Lucas Hogsberg was sidelined through suspension but is eligible to return on Friday.

Kendry Paez netted his first goal of Ligue 1 last Sunday, with Guela Doue and Emanuel Emegha scoring late to ensure them maximum points.

On the Marseille side, Ruben Blanco was sidelined due to a sore knee in their previous fixture, while Geoffrey Kondogbia did not feature because of a calf strain.

Hamed Traore was also out with a leg injury, while Benjamin Pavard, Nayef Aguerd, Timothy Weah, Mason Greenwood and Amine Gouiri were the only players to maintain their place in the starting 11 from matchday four.

A Marquinhos own-goal helped them to a triumph on Monday, while Geronimo Rulli made five stops for his first clean sheet of the Ligue 1 campaign.

Strasbourg possible starting lineup:

Penders; Ouattara, Doukoure, Sarr, Chilwell; Doue, Amougou, Barco, Godo; Panichelli, Paez

Marseille possible starting lineup:

Rulli; Pavard, Balerdi, Aguerd; Weah, Nadir, Hojbjerg, Gomes; Greenwood, Paixao; Gouiri