Marseille had to wait a week to get their Ligue 1 campaign up and running. Full-back Jordan Amavi tested positive for COVID-19 and additional players and/or staff also tested positive.
Now, Marseille will travel to the Stade Francis-Le Ble to play Brest seeking a first win of the campaign. Manager Andre Villas-Boas is still piecing his team together although several players have already been signed.
The team have sought to improve the defence in hopes of cutting the gap between themselves and Paris Saint-Germain. Marseille finished second last season in the league, 12 points off of the league leaders, and are 25/1 to win the division this time around.
Defenders Alvaro Gonzalez and Leonardo Balerdi have arrived. Midfielder Pape Gueye also joined the French club in the offseason from Watford. There could be player exits as well as Florian Thauvin is being tracked by Leicester City and Aston Villa.
Brest are considered a favourite for relegation this season. On matchday 1, they faced off with Nimes in an early season six-point match. Brest lost 4-0 to Nimes despite keeping 53% of the possession and tallying 10 shots.
The Pirates lost to a direct relegation rival on matchday 1. Now, they have to overcome a team that is expected to fight for a top three place.
The clubs met just once last season due to the season being cancelled after 28 games. Marseille claimed a 2-1 win versus Brest in their only meeting with all three goals coming in the second half.
Bouna Sarr opened the scoring on 56 minutes but Brest’s Irvin Cardona levelled on 88 minutes. One minute later, Marseille got the winner thanks to a strike from Nemanja Radonjic.
Striker Dario Benedetto led Marseille in goals in Ligue One last term. Dmitri Payet added nine Ligue 1 goals for the club. Marseille recorded 56 points which was 14.27 points more than their expected points figure.
They overachieved based on their expected points figure. Can they do it once more and challenge Paris Saint-Germain this season?
Brest could be without Gaetan Charbonnier due to injury. He is recovering from a meniscus problem. Denys Bain is recovering from a knee injury and won’t be back until January.
Marseille have no injury problems but Amavi could miss out due to COVID-19. It is unknown at the moment if any other players will miss out due to the virus.
Brest should struggle for a second straight week. It will certainly be a relegation-threatened season for the Pirates. Marseille should have no issue claiming a first win of the season. Expect Marseille to win to nil as Brest fail to breach OM’s defence.