Fresh from an enthralling but stop-start opening day victory over Montpellier HSC, Marseille return to the Orange Velodrome on Sunday for gameweek two of Ligue 1 against Bordeaux.
In contrast, Les Girondins' fortunes are simply going from bad to worse following defeat to newly-promoted Clermont Foot 63 during their inaugural game of the season.
Match preview
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While the frenetic action on the field should have been the major talking point of Montpellier's clash with Marseille, the headlines understandably centred on crowd trouble as home supporters returned to the Stade de la Mosson, where a small minority would dampen what should have been a joyous occasion.
After a Dimitri Payet-inspired Marseille recovered from going two goals down to storm into a 3-2 lead, sections of Montpellier supporters launched projectiles onto the pitch - one of which struck Valentin Rongier and drew blood from his mouth - leading referee Jeremie Pignard to lead both teams off the field after further objects were aimed at Marseille players.
As Montpellier supporters were pleaded to control their actions by the authorities, the two sides ultimately went back out onto the field to finish what they had started, and Marseille held on for a thrilling opening success under much-admired coach Jorge Sampaoli.
Still going strong at 34 years of age, Payet's brace on the day turned the game on its head as the former West Ham United man navigated his false nine assignment with aplomb, and supporters are itching to return to the Orange Velodrome following Marseille's recent successes on familiar turf.
Indeed, Les Olympiens went unbeaten in their final eight home matches of the 2020-21 season - winning six of them - although their defence is not exactly renowned for being watertight, as Sampaoli's men have now gone eight Ligue 1 games without keeping a clean sheet.
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With a new owner in Gerard Lopez and new coach in Vladimir Petkovic in tow, Bordeaux's 2021-22 season kicked off in the worst way imaginable, as Girondins fans - who have become accustomed to doom and gloom - saw their team go down 2-0 to newly-promoted Clermont Foot.
The net would not ripple until the 82nd minute of the encounter, when Mohamed Bayo - the top scorer in the 2020-21 Ligue 2 campaign - was on hand to tap home at the back stick before Jodel Dossou wrapped up all three points for the visitors in the third minute of added time, wrong footing Benoit Costil and slotting home into an empty net.
Bordeaux will be counting their lucky stars that they are still playing Ligue 1 football after being hit with the threat of relegation for financial problems last term, but Petkovic - who took the reins after leading Switzerland to the Euro 2020 quarter-finals - must find a winning formula, and fast.
Les Girondins did claim a vital victory during their final away game last season - a 2-1 success against Reims - but they lost their previous four on the road before that and have already experienced a major confidence hit before a daunting trip to the Orange Velodrome.
Marseille eased to a 3-1 victory in this fixture last term - a result which represented their fourth home win in a row over Bordeaux - although the two sides played out a goalless stalemate in the most recent meeting back in February.
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Team News
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Marseille coach Sampaoli has affirmed that he expects to have "everyone" in contention to feature on Sunday, with Rongier suffering no serious injury after being struck by a projectile last week.
Arkadiusz Milik, Pau Lopez, Duje Caleta-Car and Alvaro Gonzalez - who was suspended on matchday one - could therefore all earn some minutes this weekend, with the latter two in particular aiming to force their way into a leaky rearguard.
New arrivals Cengiz Under, Konrad de la Fuente, Gerson and Matteo Guendouzi were all trusted from the first whistle against Montpellier, with the former featuring on the right-hand side while Marseille attempt to bring Pol Lirola back to the club permanently.
Meanwhile, Bordeaux coach Petkovic expects to have star striker Hwang Ui-jo fit and ready to go following his involvement in the Olympics, and he will certainly start over Jimmy Briand if deemed fit enough.
Fellow attacker Josh Maja is sidelined alongside Paul Baysse and Tom Lacoux, though, while Petkovic has affirmed that Toma Basic and Yacine Adli remain available amid speculation surrounding their futures.
Nineteen-year-old midfielder Issouf Sissokho put in a strong shift against Clermont Foot despite the result, so Otavio may have to make do with another substitute outing.
Marseille possible starting lineup:
Mandanda; Saliba, Gonzalez, Caleta-Car; Under, Kamara, Gueye, De la Fuente; Gerson, Guendouzi; Payet
Bordeaux possible starting lineup:
Costil; Kwateng, Mexer, Koscielny, Benito; Basic, Sissokho; Zerkane, Adli, Kalu; Hwang
We say: Marseille 3-1 Bordeaux
Bordeaux were simply devoid of any and all attacking inspiration during the opening weekend, but the return of Hwang brings with it an added dimension to the visitors' frontline.
Marseille have no such problems in the final third after a stellar summer of recruitment, and with two key defenders also back in the fold, we can only back Sampaoli's men to maintain their 100% record with relative ease.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Marseille win with a probability of 57.29%. A draw had a probability of 23.2% and a win for Bordeaux had a probability of 19.54%.
The most likely scoreline for a Marseille win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.78%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.49%) and 2-1 (9.81%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.01%), while for a Bordeaux win it was 0-1 (6.19%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 4.6% likelihood.
