Marseille back against newly promoted Angers after 'deserved' defeat.

2024-10-01

After a sobering defeat to Strasbourg, Olympique Marseille aim to reignite their form at the Stade Vélodrome against a struggling newly promoted Angers, who are desperate to escape the foot of the Ligue 1 table.

Olympique Marseille

Olympique Marseille are coming off a 1-0 loss to Strasbourg, which ended their three-game winning streak. Their Italian manager, Roberto De Zerbi, commented on the defeat, saying, "We played a lot of man against man, one versus one; we lost 80% of these duels, so we deserved to lose the match."

De Zerbi pointed out that his team lost too many duels, including aerial ones, contributing to their defeat. This loss has set them back in the race to catch up with the top two in the league, as they now sit in 3rd place with 13 points, trailing 2nd place Monaco by 3 points.

All efforts will be focused on getting back to winning ways when Marseille face newcomers Angers this Friday. Despite having only one win from four games against newly promoted sides, Marseille hope to secure four consecutive wins against Angers for the first time in their history.

The Olympians can take confidence from their recent record, having won their last three encounters with Angers in all competitions and maintaining an impressive home form with only one loss in the current calendar year. De Zerbi may opt for a 4-2-3-1 formation, possibly featuring Elye Wahi in attack.

Angers SCO

Just like their Friday opponents, Angers are also coming off a defeat. The visitors lost 3-1 to Reims at home after a late goal from Zinedine Ferhat [84’] failed to inspire a comeback.

Having earned only 2 points, the newcomers find themselves at the bottom of the Ligue 1 table, two points short of the relegation playoff spot. Compared to Marseille at the opposing end of the table, Angers will aim to lift themselves out of the bottom two by the end of Friday’s fixture.

However, adapting to the top flight has been more challenging than expected. Angers could fail to secure a win in their first seven games of a top-flight season for the first time since 1965/66.

A 4-2-3-1 formation with Esteban Lepaul in attack is expected. As many as five players, including Bamba Dieng, are ruled out of this weekend’s clash.