David Flower
Dailysports's expert
Marseille
Montpellier
One of the matches of the 30th round of the French championship will be played on Saturday at the "Velodrome" arena, where the local Marseille will host Montpellier. I suggest a bet on the outcome of this clash with a good coefficient.
Match preview
"Olympique" slipped up again at a crucial moment — in the last game, the team was soundly defeated by "Monaco" (0:3), allowing the "princes" to move ahead in the table and dropping to third place. This defeat was already the fourth in the last five rounds of Ligue 1, where the only victory was just a drop in the ocean of problems.
The Marseille defense is falling apart — in all these matches, the "Provençals" consistently conceded, and in four consecutive cases, opponents scored at least two goals. Amid these failures, the team continues an uncompromising marathon: 11 matches without draws in the championship, of which five were won and six were lost. "Olympique" clearly lacks stability and balance in their play.
The "Palladins" continue their descent into the abyss — the defeat by "Angers" (0:2) was already the tenth in a row in Ligue 1. No other team in the French championship is experiencing such a prolonged crisis. "Montpellier" firmly holds the last place in the table, and the gap from the safety zone is only growing — now it stands at an impressive 14 points.
The picture of complete disarray is complemented by an anti-record for matches with goals conceded — "Montpellier" has not kept a clean sheet in 35 consecutive Ligue 1 games. The attack is also silent: the team has not scored in 7 consecutive rounds. Away, the situation is no better — in 9 out of the last 10 away games, the "Palladins" have lost without scoring.
Probable lineups
- Marseille: Geronimo Rulli – Ulisses Garcia, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Amir Murillo – Quentin Merlin, Valentin Rongier, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Luis Henrique – Adrien Rabiot, Mason Greenwood, Jonathan Rowe
- Montpellier: Benjamin Lecomte – Wilfried Ndollo, Kiki Kouyaté, Bechir Omeragic, Modibo Sagnan, Theo Saint-Luce – Nicolas Paes, Jordan Ferri, Joris Chotard, Khalil Fayad – Tanguy Coulibaly
Match facts and head-to-head
- In the first round, Marseille left no chance for Montpellier, crushing them away with a score of 5:0
- The "Both Teams to Score" bet paid off in 4 out of 5 matches
- The "Over 2.5 Goals" bet was successful in three out of five matches
Prediction
Of course, bookmakers do not see any chances for Montpellier to grab points. However, the odds for Marseille's victory are extremely low – 1.25. Considering how weak Montpellier's attack is, our bet is "Both Teams to Score – No" with a coefficient of 1.88.
