Marseille will look to consolidate their place in the automatic Champions League places when they welcome Saint-Etienne to the Stade Velodrome in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
This fixture will become the third-most played in the history of Ligue 1 when they take to the field this weekend, with both club's respective meetings against Bordeaux the only head-to-head to have been played more often.
Match preview
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Ahead of meeting number 116, Marseille remain dominant at home in this fixture, winning almost 75% of the 57 past clashes at the Velodrome, taking an average of 2.3 points-per-game.
The last four across all venues have ended in Marseille victories too, and another success for Roberto De Zerbi's men would see them win five in a row against Saint-Etienne for the first time in their history.
De Zerbi has already enjoyed two wins over Les Verts this season, both at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, scoring six without reply in league and cup.
After winning 2-0 against Angers last weekend, OM can also claim their 1200th Ligue 1 victory with another win here, and the club sit a long way clear at the top of those charts.
Marseille ended January in woeful form, crashing out of the cup to Lille, while taking just one point from two matches against Strasbourg and Nice.
De Zerbi's side have seen a resurgence in February though, beating Lyon and Angers to move six points clear of third, even though there is almost no chance of them catching Paris Saint-Germain at the top.
Remarkably, despite sitting second, Marseille have not won back-to-back games at home this season, but this will represent an excellent opportunity to do so.
Marseille were already an entertaining side before the implementation of De Zerbi's tactics, but they have now also taken hold, because none of the club's last 60 matches have ended goalless - their longest streak since the 1940s.
All of these statistics make for ominous reading from a Saint-Etienne persuasion, and after a promising start under new manager Eirik Horneland, things have unravelled rather quickly.
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PSG were the only team to beat them in Horneland's first four in charge, but they have now lost both of their fixtures in February.
A week after going down 4-1 at Lille, ASSE lost a relegation six-pointer to Rennes on home soil last Saturday, leaving them three points adrift of 15th-placed Nantes, and with Le Havre making up ground behind them.
Les Verts are still winless in 11 away games this season, and that run is an extension from their last campaign in the top flight, when they failed to win any of their final seven.
Saint-Etienne are carding their worst defensive numbers in over 70 years too, having conceded 45 goals in just 21 games, only two shy of their worst-ever tally at this stage of a season.
Team News
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Marseille's Amar Dedic will hope to be handed a full debut by De Zerbi after coming off the bench in the win over Angers just a few days after joining the club, while another new signing has had a phenomenal impact at the club, with Amine Gouiri registering three assists in his first two games for the club.
Adrien Rabiot is enjoying a rich vein of form, scoring in his last two games, and the French international also netted in both head-to-heads against Saint-Etienne earlier this season.
On the injury front, Amine Harit (calf) and Valentin Rongier (illness) are doubts for the hosts, while Faris Moumbagna remains out long term with a cruciate tear.
Saint-Etienne could be able to hand a debut to Maxime Bernauer following his recent return from injury shortly after signing from Dinamo Zagreb, while Dylan Batubinsika is also back from suspension.
Ibrahima Wadji is close to making a return, but Aimen Moueffek and Ben Old are expected to remain sidelined ahead of this one.
Zuriko Davitashvili won Ligue 1's Player of the Month award in October, but has scored just two goals in 14 games for club and country since - both in defeats.
Marseille possible starting lineup:
Rulli; Murillo, Balerdi, Cornelius; Luis Henrique, Bennacer, Hojbjerg, Merlin; Greenwood, Gouiri, Rabiot
Saint-Etienne possible starting lineup:
Larsonneur; Appiah, Nade, Batubinsika, Petrot; Bouchouari, Ekwah, Mouton; Boakye, Stassin, Davitashvili
We say: Marseille 4-1 Saint-Etienne
Marseille will be big favourites, and with the chance to win back-to-back home games for the first time this season, and five in a row against Saint-Etienne for the first time ever, the home side have plenty of encouragement to be on their game here.
Few will give ASSE a chance here considering how potent Marseille's attack is and how poor Les Verts are at the back, and the visitors may be more focused on the home clash with Angers next weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
