Marseille will look to respond to their woeful showing last weekend when they welcome bottom-of-the-table Montpellier HSC to the Stade Velodrome in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
Roberto De Zerbi's men conceded second place in Ligue 1 to Monaco once more by losing 3-0 to Adi Hutter's side in a dismal display, so the home support will be hoping to see a reaction in a very winnable encounter.
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That 3-0 defeat had ramifications both on and off the pitch for Marseille last weekend, as it raised more questions about De Zerbi's suitability in the role, while midfielder Adrien Rabiot also came out to criticise his teammates' attitude throughout the 90 minutes.
It was a fifth defeat in seven for OM, as many as they had suffered in the opening 22 games of the season, with De Zerbi's men conceding a whopping 11 goals across their last four outings.
Out of all the clubs in the top seven chasing the Champions League positions, none have conceded as many as Marseille (41), and that could turn out to be fatal to their chances if recent trends in form continue.
Form at the Velodrome has remained consistent, though, with Marseille winning five of their seven Ligue 1 matches here in 2025, but they simply have to add a sixth against Montpellier this weekend in a great opportunity to potentially move clear of the sides below.
In 29 home matches against Montpellier in the top flight, Marseille have only lost twice, and their current unbeaten run over their upcoming opponents stands at 11 games, in which time they have scored 26 goals.
There has never been a bigger gulf between the two sides while they have both been Ligue 1 clubs than there is now either, with Montpellier certain to be relegated in the coming weeks.
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Zoumana Camara has been appointed manager in the last couple of weeks after the club finally allowed Jean-Louis Gasset to leave, when they had initially refused his request to resign.
Ten straight league defeats is the longest run of any club in Europe's top-five leagues at present, and illustrates why the 2012 French champions are cut adrift at the bottom of the standings.
The towel seems to have been thrown in by all involved in the playing squad, as they limped to another defeat last weekend away to Angers, barely putting up a fight in a dismal 2-0 defeat.
That comes just a few weeks after the home clash with fellow relegation rivals Saint-Etienne was abandoned following rioting from the Montpellier supporters, who have voiced their displeasure at the results on the pitch throughout the campaign.
Montpellier are 14 points from safety with just 18 points left on offer, and while confirmation of their relegation may not come this weekend with Le Havre playing PSG away, it is only a matter of time from here.
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Both of Marseille's injury concerns come in defence, where Luiz Felipe and Leonardo Balerdi are set to miss out once more with hamstring and knee issues, respectively.
There was one positive to take from last week's humbling defeat, and it was that Amine Gouiri was able to make a speedy recovery from a recent setback, and he should start after playing the final 30 minutes off the bench in the principality.
Mason Greenwood is one player who has come under fire for his performances recently, and after another poor display last week, De Zerbi could drop the Englishman, like he did in recent meetings against Lens and PSG.
Becir Omeragic returned to the Montpellier backline after an injury setback last week, but was unable to stem the flow of goals going in at the wrong end.
There are numerous players currently sidelined for the visitors, with Andy Delort, Enzo Tchato, Christopher Jullien and Nikola Maksimovic among the most notable.
Marseille loanee Bamo Meite will not get the chance to face his parent club, because he is serving the second game of a two-match ban following his red card against Le Havre at the start of the month.
Marseille possible starting lineup:
Rulli; Murillo, Kondogbia, Garcia; Luis Henrique, Rongier, Bennacer, Dedic; Gouiri, Maupay, Rabiot
Montpellier HSC possible starting lineup:
Lecomte, Ndollo Bille, Kouyate, Omeragic, Sagnan, Sainte-Luce; Pays, Savanier, Ferri, Fayad; Coulibaly
We say: Marseille 3-0 Montpellier
Montpellier are limping towards an embarrassing relegation, and if their performance at Angers last week is anything to go by, then there is nothing down for them here either.
Marseille also came in for heavy criticism following their defeat at Monaco, but they have the quality to comfortably sweep this beleaguered Montpellier team aside.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
