In one of the most attractive fixtures of this weekend’s action in the French top flight, 4th placed Marseille take on 5th placed Monaco at the Orange Vélodrome with both teams keen to further enhance their credentials for a possible top two finish in Ligue 1.
Marseille have produced an impressive start to this new Ligue 1 campaign as the hosts have suffered just the one defeat out of their 11 matches to date this term, while also bringing an excellent five-match winning streak to this Friday night encounter at their Orange Vélodrome.
Marseille’s one defeat to date came in the form of a 2-0 loss to Saint-Etienne but the hosts have quickly bounced back by recording victories against Bordeaux, Lorient, Strasbourg, Nantes and Nimes, while winning their last two on the trot at home.
The visit of Monaco though may well test Marseille’s resolve so perhaps the goals market looks the better option, especially as four of Monaco’s five home matches to date have seen both teams score.
Indeed, the bigger picture shows that 11 of Monaco’s last 14 at home have seen both teams notch.
Onto Monaco and the visitors sit just one league position and one point behind their hosts but head into this important Friday night encounter on the back of a 2-1 loss away from home at 2nd placed Lille.
Monaco had previously strung together a useful four-match winning streak which included picking up maximum points against Bordeaux, Nice, PSG and Nimes, but they look to have another tough fixture ahead of them here in the shape of in-form Marseille.
It’s also worth noting that out of Monaco’s seven wins to date so far in this season’s Ligue 1 campaign, five of these have been registered on home turf at their Stade Louis II where they still remain unbeaten, but results away from home have been less convincing.
The visitors have lost four of their six away matches already this season having incurred losses at Rennes, Brest, Lyon and Lille, which have outweighed Monaco’s minimal successes at Metz and Nice.
Four of these six matches have also seen both teams score, so this appears to be the best option again here as an away win for Monaco could be stretching it.
With both Marseille and Monaco pushing for a spot in the top two, both could score here.