Reeling from a heavy defeat to Classique rivals Paris Saint-Germain, Marseille have some Ligue 1 wrongs to right when they visit the Stade de la Beaujoire to take on Nantes on Sunday.

Roberto De Zerbi's team were subjected to a 3-0 beatdown at the hands of PSG last weekend, while their hosts also fell short away to Strasbourg, suffering a 3-1 defeat.

Match preview

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Losing their way a touch since a sensational start to life under ex-Brighton & Hove Albion manager De Zerbi, Marseille now only have one victory under their belts from their last four games and were no match for a prolific PSG on home soil last weekend.

Everything that could go wrong for Les Olympiens in a disastrous first half did go wrong, as strikes from Joao Neves and Bradley Barcola either side of a Leonardo Balerdi own goal propelled PSG into an unassailable three-goal lead, which Marseille were never going to make up after Amine Harit was sent off.

Holding the champions goalless in the second 45 was applaudable from the 10 men of Marseille, but their pitiful first-half performance was unsurprisingly fatal and allowed PSG to move six points clear of De Zerbi's crop in the Ligue 1 table.

Nevertheless, Marseille's brilliant start to 2024-25 means that they still occupy the third and final podium spot in the standings - also three points behind Monaco and above Lille on goal difference - and rival stadiums have been happy hunting grounds for De Zerbi's men so far this term.

Indeed, Les Olympiens have triumphed in four away league games already in the 2024-25 season - only Barcelona (six) have won more - and Marseille have notched at least three goals in all of those victories for a terrific tally of 16 on the road.

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Marseille's penchant for prolific performances on the road makes for grim reading for a Nantes side who cannot bolt the back door shut this season, as Antoine Kombouare's defence was breached on three occasions on Strasbourg's turf last weekend.

A brace from Chelsea loanee Andrey Santos put Strasbourg in cruise control before Dilane Bakwa added to Strasbourg's advantage, ensuring that Herba Guirassy's response would prove meaningless as Nantes' woeful winless run was prolonged.

Since getting the better of lowly Montpellier HSC 3-1 at the end of August, Les Canaris have gone six games without a three-point haul in the top flight and are scrapping at the wrong end of the table in 12th place, just three points above Saint-Etienne in the relegation playoff spot.

Nantes have to go even further back to August 25 for their most recent clean sheet in France's top flight, and home is not where the heart is for Les Canaris, who have only won one Ligue 1 fixture at the Stade de la Beaujoire throughout the whole of 2024.

The unsightly records do not end there for the hosts, who have also failed to beat Marseille in any of their last eight attempts and could now equal their longest winless run against Les Olympiens, going nine without a victory in this fixture from 1988 to 1992.

Team News

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Marseille playmaker Harit will serve no further punishment than the standard one-game ban for his red card in Le Classique, although Marseille will have to cope without him on Sunday, where De Zerbi has a few options to replace him.

Ismael Kone and the long-serving Valentin Rongier can both shore up the middle of the park, but the Marseille boss should call upon Jonathan Rowe to join Mason Greenwood, Luis Henrique and Elye Wahi up front.

As far as Nantes are concerned, Kombouare is still missing full-back Fabien Centonze owing to his crushing ACL injury, but Jean-Kevin Duverne was on the bench last weekend following a hamstring problem.

Les Canaris did not pick up any fresh concerns in the loss to Strasbourg, though, and 18-year-old winger Guirassy may have given Kombouare some food for thought up front with his second goal of the season in that one.

Matthis Abline's spot on the left could come under threat from Guirassy, while Mostafa Mohamed leads the line amid links with a move to Premier League outfit Leicester City.

Nantes possible starting lineup:
Lafont; Coco, Castelletto, Zeze, Cozza; Chirivella, Augusto; Thomas, Kadewere, Guirassy; Mohamed

Marseille possible starting lineup:
Rulli; Murillo, Balerdi, Kondogbia, Brassier; Rabiot, Hojbjerg; Greenwood, Rowe, Henrique; Wahi

We say: Nantes 1-3 Marseille

While Marseille's tally of four away wins is the second-most in Europe's big five leagues in 2024, no team in the Premier League, Ligue 1, Serie A, La Liga or Bundesliga has fewer than Nantes' one home victory in the whole of 2024.

Another miserable Beaujoire outing surely awaits for the Canaris faithful, whose side are adept at finding the back of the net, but Marseille's rampant attackers will surely expose their defensive vulnerabilities time and time again.


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