Marseille vs Lens Preview & Prediction | 2023-24 French Ligue 1
THE FACTS
Click here for today’s sports betting tips from our expert analysts!
When is Marseille vs Lens on and what time does it start? Marseille vs Lens will take place on Friday 19th May, 2023 – 20:00 (UK)
Where can I get tickets for Marseille vs Lens? Visit each club’s official website for the latest ticket information
What TV channel is Marseille vs Lens on in the UK? TNT Sports have the rights to Ligue 1 matches in the UK, so it is worth checking their schedule for Marseille vs Lens
Where can I stream Marseille vs Lens in the UK? If Marseille vs Lens is televised on TNT Sports, then subscribers can stream the match live on discovery+
THE LOWDOWN
MARSEILLE
Olympique de Marseille, as is often the case in the hostile city down in the south of France, burned through two managers quickly in Marcelino and Gennaro Gattuso before the appointment of former Ivory Coast boss Jean-Louis Gasset. Marseille immediately went on a five-match winning streak across all competitions but have since significantly dropped off.
The southerners come into this one on the back of sharing 2-2 draws with both Toulouse and then against Nice at the Velodrome in the Derby de la Mediterranee. Marseille, though, needed penalties to squeeze past Benfica and get to the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League but are now winless in their last five Ligue 1 games.
LENS
After the sales of Lois Openda and Seko Fofana last summer, Lens started the season extremely slowly but since late-September, they have returned to being one of the strongest teams in French football. However, they do begin this weekend’s round of fixtures sitting outside of the top five and the automatic European spots.
The northerners were enduring a disappointing four-match winless run of form before their valuable yet unconvincing defeat of bottom-of-the-table Clermont last weekend. Florian Sotoca scored a third minute penalty in that match and that was enough to see them past Ligue 2-bound opposition but they need an improvement in their performance.
THE TEAM NEWS
MARSEILLE
Faris Moumbagna is unavailable for Marseille this weekend through suspension, whilst the likes of Chancel Mbemba, Valentin Rongier and Ismaila Sarr are all out injured.
PREDICTED XI (3-5-2): Pau Lopez; Balerdi, Gigot, Garcia; Clauss, Harit, Kondogbia, Veretout, Luiz Henrique; Aubameyang, Ndiaye
UNAVAILABLE: Moumbagna (Suspended), Mbemba (Injured), Merlin (Injured), Sarr (Injured), Meite (Injured), Rongier (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE:
LENS
There are a few injury concerns for Lens this weekend, such as Wesley Said, Jimmy Cabot and Jhoanner Chavez, whilst Jonathan Gradit out suspended.
PREDICTED XI (3-4-2-1): Samba; Khusanov, Danso, Medina; Frankowski, Mendy, El Aynaoui, Machado; Sotoca, Fulgini; Wahi
UNAVAILABLE: Gradit (Suspended), Chavez (Injured), Said (Injured), Cabot (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE:
THE PREDICTION
In Jean-Louis Gasset’s opening five matches, Marseille enjoyed five victories and in doing so they also scored 18 goals in the process. However, ever since then, they have managed just one win in eight games and that win was a late, slightly fortunate second-leg defeat of Benfica. Lens are also struggling to find some fluency and form just at the wrong time for Franck Haise. Given that both of these sides are underperforming at the moment, this could be quite a disjointed encounter at the Stade Velodrome.
TIP: UNDER 3.5 GOALS
