Marseille face a trip to relegation-threatened Metz on Friday night, seeking their first league win in five outings. It has been a poor few weeks for the one-time title challengers, who are at risk of seeing their campaign completely slip away.
The hosts, on the other hand, have given themselves just a little hope of avoiding the drop back down to Ligue 2, although they must end the season with a run of victories if they are to do so.
Metz
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Les Grenats may have enjoyed a surprising turnaround in fortunes in recent weeks, but there is still a long way to go before they can move themselves out of the drop zone and time is certainly not on their side.
A four-game unbeaten run was enough to claw last season's promoted Ligue 2 side within eight points of safety, with a game in hand still to play on the sides around them at the wrong end of the table.
That match came against league favourites Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night but, despite highlighting their fighting qualities once again, it proved to be one hurdle too far as they fell to a 3-1 defeat in the capital.
Metz's return to the top tier of French football following a six-year absence looks likely to be a temporary stay at this stage, as they have those eight points still to make up on 17th-placed Reims, with games against three sides in the top half of the table to come.
It looks an unlikely task, then, but one that Albert Cartier will not have written off completely just yet. The Stade Municipal club have won just as many games as they have lost on home soil this season, so if they can use that to their advantage against Marseille to pull off a shock win, it could very well be game on once again.
Recent form: LDWWDL
Marseille
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A shock run of four straight defeats has left Marseille's season on the brink of tatters. From title challengers to a side struggling to land a place inside the top four in a matter of weeks, Les Phoceens must get their campaign back on track on Friday night before it is too late.
The last of those defeats, a 5-3 reverse at home to strugglers Lorient, went a long way to highlighting where their frailties have lay this season.
Former player Jordan Ayew struck the fifth goal in that potentially fatal defeat at the Stade Veledrome, to make it 41 goals conceded for Marcelo Bielsa's side this term. That is the worst record of any side in the top half of the table, and only slightly better than that of Metz.
Up the other end, Andre-Pierre Gignac has led the way in superb fashion with 18 league goals, but Bielsa's entertaining brand of football is not likely to pay dividends, with a Champions League berth - the realistic aim for this season - now five points away.
Marseille must still face Monaco, the side currently occupying that final place in the top three, before the end of the season, although they also require a slip-up from Saint-Etienne in the closing weeks if they are to claim a place in Europe's showpiece competition next season.
Recent form in Ligue 1: DWLLLL
Recent form (all competitions): WDLLLL
Team News
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Bielsa has this week challenged his team to turn their fortunes around, which suggests that he may be willing to stick with the same group of players from that topsy-turvy affair last time out.
Gignac has been one of the division's best players this season, and he is in line to lead the attack once more from the off at the Stade Municipal.
Brice Dja Djedje was taken off with 30 minutes on the clock against Lorient, so Alaixys Romao may be afforded a start should the Chilean boss opt to tinker with his tactics.
Meanwhile, Metz stuck with the same starting lineup against PSG in their last game, so it might be a case of minimal changes this time around.
While Marseille have had a week to prepare for the clash again Les Grenats, the hosts will have just 72 hours' rest, which could mean Cheick Doukoure coming into the side in place of Ferjani Sassi to freshen things up a little.
Metz possible starting lineup:
Mfa Mezui, Metanire, Lejeune, Milan, Palomino, Doukoure, Sarr, Kashi, Malouda, Ngbakoto, Maiga
Marseille possible starting lineup:
Mandana, Morel, N'Koulou, Romao, Thauvin, Payet, Alessandrini, Imbula, Lemina, Gignac, Ayew
Head To Head
Marseille claimed all three points when these sides met earlier this season, courtesy of goals from Gignac, Andre Ayew and Dimitri Payet. That 3-1 win took Bielsa's charges back to the summit of the Ligue 1 table, but a lot has happened in the four months since then.
That was the first meeting between the pair in six years due to Metz's spell in the second tier. On that occasion back in 2008, it was a similar story as L'OM came out on top 2-1.
In fact, Marseille have won six of the last eight meetings against their Friday night opponents, while they have claimed 13 victories from the 23 games played overall.
We say: Metz 1-1 Marseille
This prediction may have seemed well off the mark this time last month, but Marseille have been in truly terrible form of late while Metz have picked things up to maintain just a little hope. A draw in this fixture will not help either side, though, so expect both to throw all they have at it.
Daniel Lewis
