Marseille take on the visitors Lorient in the round 4 match of French Ligue 1. The match will be played on Friday, September 12th at Stade Vélodrome (Marseille).
Olympique de Marseille certainly can’t be satisfied with their past month. “Les Olympiens” collapsed two seasons ago but responded very effectively. They signed several star players without hesitation and also made the right call with Roberto De Zerbi as head coach. He managed to collect 65 points with his new squad, which was enough to confidently finish second. It seemed the vice-champions were preparing steadily for the new campaign, especially with the return of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. However, they lost 0–1 in their opening match to Stade Rennais FC despite having a man advantage, and after that defeat tensions boiled over, leading to fights and the departures of Rowe and Rabiot. They bounced back with a 5–2 win over newly promoted Paris FC, but then suffered a clean-sheet defeat to a stronger Olympique Lyonnais side. There was plenty for the coaching staff to work on during the international break. Marseille have shown flashes of attacking brilliance but remain inconsistent defensively, especially under pressure. De Zerbi will be eager to see his side start stringing wins together to avoid falling behind the league leaders.
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FC Lorient were relegated once again in 2024, but they performed confidently in Ligue 2 and finished first to secure promotion. However, life back in the top division has been much more difficult. Yes, they did record a dominant 4–0 win, but that came against Rennes, who were reduced to nine men early in the match. Before that, the newcomers started with a 0–1 away loss to AJ Auxerre. And in the last round they were humiliated 1–7 at home by Lille OSC, despite Tosin briefly cutting the deficit to one goal in the second half. Lorient’s defensive structure has looked fragile, and their confidence seems shaken after the heavy defeat. They’ll need a massive improvement to stand a chance against a much stronger Marseille side.
In the last 10 meetings, Lorient have managed just one draw — back in the spring of two seasons ago. Marseille won all the other matches. De Zerbi and his players should prove they have corrected their mistakes. We back them to win this match with a -1.0 goal handicap.
Prediction for the match: Marseille to win with -1.0 handicap.
