Marseille vs Lille preview

January 28, 2016
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Lille vs MarseilleHaving closed the gap behind European positions, Marseille will want to extend the bright run of results when they take on Lille at Stade Velodrome.

Meanwhile, les Dogues ended a three-match losing streak by hammering Bordeaux in Coupe de la Ligue, and now hope to enjoy some Ligue 1 success as well.

Marseille have been trying to keep the results respectable while the club battles financial difficulty and we cannot say they have enjoyed a great deal of success.

New coach Michel had some rebuilding to do after a host of first team regulars had left in the summer, and given the circumstances, he has been doing a very good job.

Marseille did struggle in the opening exchanges, but then went on to show a great deal of improvement, winning 11 if last 19 games in all competitions.

OM recovered well from the Coupe de la Ligue defeat to Toulouse as they recorded back to back wins over Caen (Coupe de France) and Montpellier (Ligue 1), before coming close to defeating Lyon on the road.

However, it is important to note that Marseille were second best throughout and they will have to show improvement if they want to justify the odds of 1.91 (10/11) offered on them to beat Lille.

Key midfielder Lassana Diarra picked up an adductor injury ahead of the Lyon game, meaning he is out of the Lille clash, as is Romain Alessandrini.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Mandanda – Dja Djedje, N’Koulou, Rolando, Manquillo – Isla, Romao – N’Koudou, Cabella, Sarr – Batshuayi.

Lille have fought bravely to keep up with French giants PSG, Marseille, Lyon and Bordeaux over the years, but the club have experienced some financial problems as they invested in a new stadium.

As a result, a number of key players were allowed to leave, with inexperienced yet talented footballers taking their place, so no wonder the results have been far from impressive this term.

At the moment of writing, les Dogues sit mere three points above the dreaded dotted line, although eight points behind European positions, meaning nothing is lost yet.

Shocking Coupe de France defeat to minnows Trelissac, sandwiched between league losses to Bordeaux and Troyes, was supposed to serve as a major blow to the players’ confidence, but instead had quite the opposite effect.

With Lille players waking up to smell the coffee, les Dogues responded brilliantly to their recent struggles, hammering Bordeaux 5-1 to progress in Coupe de la Ligue.

Frederic Antonetti’s charges will now want to do well at Stade Velodrome as well, with the visitors widely expected to adopt a counter-attacking approach.

There have been no fresh injury worries for the former Rennes head coach, but Marko Basa and Mike Maignan remain on the sidelines.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Enyeama – Corchia, Civelli, Soumaoro, Sidibe – Balmont, Mavuba, Obbadi – Bautheac, Tallo, Boufal.

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