Sports Mole previews Sunday’s Ligue 1 clash between Strasbourg and Marseille, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Marseille will aim to keep pace with the other top teams in Ligue 1 when they travel to Stade de la Meinau on Sunday for a date with Strasbourg.
Heading into this weekend, OM are the joint-leaders in the table following a dramatic 3-2 victory over Lyon, while the side from Alsace are 10th, playing to a 3-3 draw with Lille the last time out.
Match preview
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In his first season in charge of Strasbourg, Liam Rosenior has employed a more aggressive, attack-minded approach, which has had a polarising effect so far.
Three of their five domestic games this season have produced four or more goals, however Le Racing have only come away with maximum points in one of those instances (3-1 over Rennes).
Dating back to the previous top-flight campaign, this team have claimed at least a point in three successive matches played at Stade de la Meinau and have not lost a domestic encounter in Strasbourg since April (3-1 versus Nice).
After five matchdays, Rosenior has racked up six points, just one fewer than his predecessor, Patrick Vieira, had at this stage of the previous season, his only one in charge.
Le Racing have failed to win three fixtures domestically this season when netting first, dropping seven points as a result.
A victory on Sunday would be the 1000th for this club across all competitions, while it also marking the first time they surpass seven points after six Ligue 1 matchdays since returning to the top flight in 2017-18.
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The early days of Roberto De Zerbi as Marseille boss have been highly successful, with this team unbeaten in the league thus far and in a three-way tie for first alongside Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco with 13 points.
Les Phoceens have scored 15 goals after five Ligue 1 matchdays, the most for this club at this stage of a season since 1954-55 (17).
Marseille have collected four points from a losing position in the second half of their matches this season, with four of their last five goals coming in the final 45 minutes.
To this stage of the new campaign, they have only conceded once in the opening half, and it came in their opening league fixture against Brest in August.
Among the most impressive parts of their strong start has been their away form, winning their first three league fixtures outside the Stade Velodrome for the first time since 2013-14.
They are unbeaten in their previous 17 matches played against Strasbourg in this competition, though their last victory at Stade de la Meinau came in December 2021 (2-0).
Strasbourg Ligue 1 form:
Marseille Ligue 1 form:
Team News
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In their draw with Lille last weekend, Strasbourg were missing Yoni Gomis, Moise Sahi, Thomas Delaine and Caleb Wiley with knee injuries.
Milos Lukovic was sidelined due to an illness, while Alaa Bellaarouch did not feature last weekend because of a groin strain.
Down by two goals, Strasbourg stormed back with strikes from Andrey Santos, Emanuel Emegha and Sebastian Nanasi, only to concede a late penalty converted by Lille striker Jonathan David.
In their victory over Lyon, Marseille did not have Bilal Nadir available due to an ACL issue, while Ruben Blanco and Faris Moumbagna were out because of knee problems.
Quentin Merlin missed another encounter last week with a thigh injury, while captain Leonardo Balerdi will be suspended after receiving two cautions in the opening five minutes of their previous contest.
Goals from Pol Lirola, Ulisses Garcia and Jonathan Rowe enabled them to outlast Olympique Lyonnais last weekend, while their new signing, Adrien Rabiot, should be available for selection on Sunday.
Strasbourg possible starting lineup:
Petrovic; Doue, Sow, Sylla, Moreira; Doukoure; Bakwa, Diarra, Santos, Nanasi; Emegha
Marseille possible starting lineup:
Rulli; Murillo, Cornelius, Kondogbia, Garcia; Hojbjerg, Kone; Greenwood, Harit, Henrique; Wahi
We say: Strasbourg 1-3 Marseille
These two aggressive sides have some potent attacking pieces, but Marseille have been able to find an extra gear when needed, which is why we are giving them the edge in this encounter.
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