Once a mammoth showdown between Monaco and Marseille at the Stade Louis II ends on Sunday night, Ligue 1 will take a five-week break to accommodate the Qatar World Cup.
Connoisseurs of action-packed football will be looking forward to this fixture, even though the last two league encounters between these sides witnessed a win ‘to nil’ going both ways.
High scoring has been a common theme in Ligue 1 clashes between Monaco and Marseille, with 12 of their last 15 top-flight duels featuring at least three goals.
Les Monegasques wouldn’t mind another ‘goal-friendly’ affair as long as they extend a three-match winning run in all competitions, bookended by a 2-0 win away to promoted Toulouse last time out.
Rennes’ 2-1 home triumph over Toulouse on Saturday evening leaves Monaco and Marseille with all to play for in the French principality, with both teams languishing four points behind Bruno Genesio’s side.
Fourth-placed Marseille got their faltering Ligue 1 campaign back on track last week with a hard-earned 1-0 home victory over Lyon, ending a dreadful four-game winless league streak (D1, L3).
Samuel Gigot’s winner gave Les Olympiens’ faithful a mere consolation following a heartbreaking Champions League elimination at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur.
Out of Europe for the rest of the season, courtesy of a bottom-place finish in Group D, could be a blessing in disguise, allowing Igor Tudor’s men to focus their energy on an evenly-contested top-three race in Ligue 1.
Match Preview
Monaco
After going winless in five consecutive Ligue 1 matches against Marseille (D2, L3), Monaco have been victorious in two of their last three top-flight H2Hs (L1).
Philippe Clement’s side will be eyeing up another H2H success on the back of back-to-back league wins ‘to nil,’ as they aim to make it three in a row without conceding for the first time since April 2021.
Led by last season’s beaten Golden Boot contender Wissam Ben Yedder, Les Monegasques have scored in 13 successive Ligue 1 outings in the run-up to this game, with only Paris Saint-Germain (17) enjoying a longer scoring streak in the league.
Marseille
Marseille are on the cusp of reaching an impressive milestone. A potential win at the Stade Louis II would mark their 500th competitive triumph in the new millennium.
But to do that, Tudor’s men will have to arrest a three-game winless away run in all competitions (D1, L2). Based on Marseille’s decent domestic form in 2022, that should be a manageable task.
Les Olympiens have racked up ten away league wins since the calendar year flipped to 2022 and are only two victories shy of equalling the club’s best-ever away-wins tally during a single calendar year.
Monaco vs Marseille Potential Line-ups
Monaco (4-2-3-1): Alexander Nubel; Caio Henrique, Benoit Badiashile, Axel Disasi, Vanderson; Mohamed Camara, Fofana; Aleksandr Golovin, Wissam Ben Yedder, Takumi Minamino; Breel Embolo.
Marseille (3-4-2-1): Pau Lopez; Samuel Gigot, Leonardo Balerdi, Chancel Mbemba; Nuno Tavares, Jordan Veretout, Valentin Rongier, Jonathan Clauss; Amine Harit, Matteo Guendouzi; Alexis Sanchez.
How to Watch?
Monaco vs Marseille, coupled with all other Ligue 1 fixtures, is available to watch online via Ligue 1 live streams.
Monaco vs Marseille Prediction
There’s not much to separate the sides ahead of the kick-off and we expect them to share the spoils in what could be an enthralling contest to watch.
Monaco 2-2 Marseille
