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Sunday sees Marseille and Montpellier face off in a Ligue 1 game at the Stade Velodrome.
Marseille are currently in second place in the league table, while Montpellier are down in 11th.
Can Marseille keep their strong run going with a win here, or can Montpellier upset them?
Marseille vs Montpellier Head-to-Head
While they’re 12 points behind league leaders Paris St. Germain, Marseille look the next most likely side to secure a Champions League spot for next season, as they are now three points clear of third-placed Rennes.
Right now, they’re on a three-game winning streak, having thumped Saint-Etienne 2-4 last weekend, and they have won five of their last eight games overall.
Jorge Sampaoli’s men are strong in all areas, and while they haven’t scored the most goals in Ligue 1, they do have the third-tightest defense, having conceded just 29 overall.
Montpellier, meanwhile, remain as inconsistent as ever, and their current run is comfortably their worst of the current campaign.
They’ve won just once in their last five games – a 2-0 win over strugglers Bordeaux – and have managed to lose seven of their last 11 overall.
Most recently, they fell 1-2 at home to Brest in what was a highly disappointing result for Olivier Dall’Oglio’s side.
The last time these sides played, Marseille eliminated Montpellier from the Coupe de France, and in their last league meeting, they ran out 2-3 winners. Overall, games between these sides seem to produce plenty of goals.
Marseille form guide: W-W-W-W-W
Montpellier form guide: L-L-D-W-L
Marseille vs Montpellier Team News
Marseille
Leonardo Balerdi and Arkadiusz Milik are both set to miss this one for Marseille, with Balerdi out for the rest of the season.
Injured: Leonardo Balerdi, Arkadiusz Milik
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Montpellier
Mihailo Ristic is suspended for this game, while two other players are out with injuries.
Injured: Thibault Tamas, Pedro Mendes
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Mihailo Ristic
Marseille vs Montpellier Predicted XI
Marseille predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Pau Lopez, Valentin Rongier, William Saliba, Duje Caleta-Car, Cengiz Under, Matteo Guendouzi, Boubacar Kamara, Amine Harit, Gerson, Dimitri Payet, Bamba Dieng
Montpellier predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Jonas Omlin, Junior Sambia, Maxime Esteve, Mamadou Sakhko, Arnaud Souquet, Jordan Ferri, Joris Chotard, Florent Mollet, Teji Savanier, Stephy Mavididi, Sepe Elye Wahi
$1,100 First Bet Insurance at Caesars
Marseille vs Montpellier Prediction
This one could be tighter than it looks on paper, particularly as Marseille only played PAOK on Thursday and will not have all that much time to prepare.
However, Jorge Sampaoli’s men are in a rich vein of form right now, while Montpellier are as inconsistent as they get, and have also hardly set the world on fire in recent games.
We expect a home win for Marseille.
Prediction: Marseille 2-1 Montpellier
