Five defeats in their last seven games, a dressing room that resembles a powder keg, and third place at risk. This is the current situation at Marseille. And while the dramatic victory over Toulouse (3-2) had calmed the waters for a while, last Saturday’s defeat in the head-to-head clash with Monaco (3-0) has thrown Roberto De Zerbi’s team back into despair. The Italian coach’s adventure on the bench of the French club is already coming to an end: it is unlikely that the former Sassuolo and Brighton coach will stay for another year after the turmoil of recent days.
The Italian coach, considering his latest statements to the press (“if I talk to you, I’ll say crazy things”), is rumored to be at odds with several of his players. Between now and the end of the season, however, he will try to grit his teeth and not fail in his main objective: qualifying for next season’s Champions League. With five games left to play, Marseille, overtaken by Monaco in second place after last week’s debacle, must defend at least third place, threatened by Lyon, Lille, and Strasbourg, all three within striking distance.
The schedule is not impossible—the only complicated match is the direct clash with Lille—but Rabiot and his teammates will have to be careful not to slip up in the easier games on paper, such as the one against bottom-of-the-table Montpellier.
Last with 15 points, the Occitan club could be mathematically relegated at the end of this round: it is unlikely that they will avoid yet another defeat (which would be their eleventh in a row). The change on the bench – Camara replacing Gasset – has not had the desired effect, with Montpellier losing 2-0 at Angers last weekend, failing to score for the seventh game in a row.
Odds comparison
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The prediction
It will most likely be a one-sided match between Marseille and Montpellier. Despite the tense atmosphere, the Phocéens should return to winning ways against a team that is practically relegated. And it cannot be ruled out that De Zerbi’s men will even manage to keep a clean sheet for the first time in five games in a row.
Probable line-ups for Marseille-Montpellier
MARSEILLE (3-4-2-1): Rulli; Kondogbia, Cornelius, Murillo; Luis Henrique, Höjbjerg, Bennacer, Merlin; Greenwood, Rabiot; Gouiri.
MONTPELLIER (5-4-1): Lecomte; Ndollo Bille, Kouyaté, Omeragic, Sagnan, Sainte-Luce; Coulibaly, Ferri, Chotard, Savanier; Khazri.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 3-0