On Saturday evening, Marseille host Stade Reims at Orange Velodrome, as both sides look to get their Ligue One campaigns off to a winning start.
Marseille endured something of an inconsistent campaign last season, eventually finishing fifth place in the French top-flight table. OM finished the campaign with wins over Toulouse and Montpellier. New boss Andre Villas-Boas will be looking for more consistency in his team in season 2019/20.
The home side are usually strong on home soil. However, last season their form at the Velodrome rather summed up their overall form in the league, quite simply it was inconsistent.
All 👀 on @StadeDeReims 🔜 pic.twitter.com/edmcDdQJUw— Olympique Marseille (@OM_English) August 9, 2019
All 👀 on @StadeDeReims 🔜 pic.twitter.com/edmcDdQJUw
OM won six of their last nine home games in Ligue One but lost two of their last three on home soil. Home form is something that Villas-Boas needs to address to get the home side back into the European qualification positions this season.
The Ligue One matches at the Velodrome were always at least a good bet for goals, with over 2.5 goals scored in four of OM’s last five home games.
Stade Reims enjoyed a very solid campaign in Ligue One last season, finishing eighth in the table. In fact, the visitors finished just six points behind Marseille in the final standings.
Reims form towards the end of last season dipped slightly in Ligue One. However, the visitors recorded two straight wins at the end of the season, including an impressive 3-1 win over champions PSG. Their pre-season form has also been encouraging, as they were unbeaten in five games.
Reims were the kings of the away draw last season in Ligue One. Wins were harder to come by on their travels towards the end of the season, though, as they won just once in their final six away games in Ligue One.
Forebet are backing Andre Villas-Boas to record a victory in a low-scoring game in his first competitive game managing Marseille.