The final tie of Matchday 1 of the 2022/23 Ligue 1 season sees Olympique Marseille welcome Stade Reims to the Orange Velodrome on Sunday night.
Reims will be looking to kick off the new campaign on a positive note after finishing twelfth last term. Although they finished 14 points clear of the bottom three, they were 20 points shy of the European places.
𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬 😃Mbemba ✖️ Suárez pic.twitter.com/1dJcRyHDS1— Olympique de Marseille 🇬🇧 🇺🇸 (@OM_English) August 4, 2022
𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬 😃Mbemba ✖️ Suárez pic.twitter.com/1dJcRyHDS1
Meanwhile, Marseille finished second – 15 points behind Paris Saint-Germain. But after finishing 25 points clear of Reims, they will be confident of starting the 2022/23 season with a win.
Marseille lost just nine of their 38 Ligue 1 games last season, picking up 21 wins and eight draws in the process.
Conceding just 38 goals, the south coast side ended the previous campaign with the third-best defensive record in the division.
Marseille have clinched the runners-up spot in two of the past three seasons, highlighting their aims to end PSG’s hegemony.
It is worth noting that Marseille have only won one of their five pre-season friendlies, suffering defeats to Norwich City, Middlesbrough and AC Milan along the way.
On the flip side, Reims managed to win just 11 of their 38 league outings last term – registering 13 draws and 14 defeats.
No team in Ligue 1 notched more draws than Reims last season, while only the top six sides conceded fewer goals.
Reims have played six pre-season friendlies in recent weeks, recording three wins, one draw, and two losses. They failed to win their last two, however, losing to Villarreal before drawing with Sassuolo.
It is worth pointing out that Reims ended the previous campaign in inconsistent form, recording three wins and three losses across the final six rounds.
Head-to-head: Marseille are on a four-game unbeaten streak in this fixture, having claimed two wins and two draws since their last loss to Reims.
Given that only two of the previous nine meetings between Marseille and Reims have dished up over 2.5 goals, Sunday’s clash should be a low-scoring affair.
Team news: Marseille will start the season without goalkeeper Pau Lopez, as the former Roma player continues to recover from a muscle injury.
Reims will be without the injured duo of Kaj Sierhuis (cruciate ligament rupture) and Moreto Cassama (ankle) on Sunday.
Given that 25-point gulf between Marseille and Reims last season, the hosts are expected to kick off the new campaign with an easy win.
Forebet predicts that Marseille will score over 1.5 goals and keep a clean sheet on their way to seeing off Reims.