On Wednesday, we can expect a very interesting lineup, and this day also brings us a postponed match of the French championship, where Marseille and Lyon will face off. Both teams have had quite a few problems this season, with Lyon in a far worse situation, currently sitting at the bottom of the table. As things stand, it’s very possible that we might see this French giant in League 2 next season. The start of the match between these two fierce rivals is scheduled for 9 pm.
Marseille: We Expected Much More!
Marseille finished last season in third place, earning them a spot in the Champions League qualifiers. Unfortunately, the French representative didn’t shine there, as they were unexpectedly eliminated in the third round by Greek team Panathinaikos. This early setback meant that the team from the Velodrome missed out on their primary goal of participating in Europe’s top club competition right at the start of the season. They had to settle for the Europa League, and it’s worth noting that the French team is currently leading their group with a one-point advantage over second-placed Brighton. Both teams have already secured their spots in the knockout phase, with only the direct qualification to the round of 16 or the round of 32 of Europe’s second-tier club competition left to be determined.
In their last Europa League match, Marseille and Ajax played a fantastic game at the Velodrome, where we saw seven goals, and the French team won 4:3, thanks to a penalty goal by Aubameyang in the third minute of stoppage time. However, this is little consolation for the fans of the famous French club, as Marseille has been performing poorly in this year’s Ligue 1. The league table shows them in ninth place, trailing leaders PSG by a significant 16 points.
In their last five matches, the team from the Velodrome has managed only one win, two draws, and two losses, making them one of the biggest disappointments of the season so far, despite having set the highest goals for themselves. To be fair, in their last match, Gennaro Gattuso’s men finally played well in front of their home crowd and easily defeated Rennes 2:0, with another goal from Aubameyang, who has been playing at a very high level lately.
The last head-to-head match between Marseille and Lyon was played nearly eight months ago at Lyon’s stadium, where the team from the Velodrome won 2:1, thanks to an own goal by Gusto in the final moments of the match.
Finally, regarding their home performances, Marseille has played six matches at their stadium so far and is still undefeated, with four wins and two draws during this period.
Lyon: French Giant in a Very Difficult Situation!
If we said that Marseille has quite a lot of problems in the current season of the French Ligue 1, what then to say about Lyon? Let’s start from the beginning. The French giant did not have a great last season and eventually had to settle for the seventh position in the table, which means that Lyon once again failed to qualify for any European competition, which was their primary goal before the season.
At the beginning of this season, the former French champion had huge ambitions, and everyone in the club thought that Lyon would find it easier to focus solely on Ligue 1. However, it seems that even the biggest pessimists could not have anticipated that after thirteen matches, Lyon would be in a disastrous last place in the table with only seven points earned.
It’s disheartening to note that the team, which just a few days ago ended its collaboration with Fabio Grosso, has played thirteen league matches so far, achieving only one victory, along with four draws and as many as eight losses. This looks even worse when compared to last season, where the French giant had only four more losses by the end of the championship.
In their last five matches, Lyon has managed only one win, one draw, and three losses, with the latest defeat occurring in the previous round in an away game against Lens, a team that is increasingly resembling its form from last season, where it finished as the runner-up.
That match ended with a 3:2 scoreline, and despite the loss, it was one of Olympique’s best performances in recent months. The visitors took the lead first, but the home team, which generally plays excellently on their ground, managed a comeback. O’Brien gave hope to the visitors in the 72nd minute, but just two minutes later, Frankowski regained the lead for the home team, and that turned out to be the final score, even though Lyon attacked until the last minute but without creating concrete chances to score.
Before this, Lyon was defeated at home by Lille, and it was after this match that the club’s management thanked Grosso, who was attacked by hooligans about a month ago and nearly lost an eye in the incident.
Finally, in away games so far, the former French champion has played six matches, achieving only one victory, one draw, and four losses.
Our Betting Suggestions
It’s an understatement to say that this is an extremely difficult match to predict, and we have already mentioned that both teams are in a very tough situation and in dire need of points. First of all, the defense is the weaker part of both teams, so we can very likely expect a match with many goals at the Velodrome, which is why we recommend trying the Total Over 2.5 goals bet, for which the bookmaker BetBonanza has prepared odds of 1.80.
It seems that it might be too much if the “bottom team” lost this match as well, especially against one of their fiercest rivals. Therefore, we boldly advise you to focus on the double chance X2, all with odds of 1.97.
Lyon, in their last match against Lens, began to show signs of life despite the loss, and it’s very possible that the former French champion could score two or more goals in this away game. Hence, we confidently recommend betting on Lyon over 1.5 goals bet, with fantastic odds of 3.10 at BetBonanza.
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