French football is back this weekend with a full slate of fixtures across Ligue 1. There’s plenty to get excited about up and down the top flight and as we enter the last few weeks of February, it’ll be interesting to see who can start to build some momentum ahead of the next few months. Today, we’ll be taking a look at what should be a fun encounter between Marseille and Nantes.
Marseille Form GuideThey may have fallen away in the title race last season, but Marseille still serve as one of the biggest clubs in French football. They have a tremendous fanbase, they have an exciting squad full of real potential, and they come across as a team with ambition. Alas, all of that will be left redundant unless they can make everything click behind the scenes - and with their management.
On Saturday, Clermont Foot played host to Marseille and were likely hoping to build up the kind of atmosphere that would’ve made them really tough to play against. Alas, they didn’t quite manage it, coming up on the wrong end of a 5-1 thumping.
Nantes Form GuideIt came down to the wire, but Nantes just about managed to stay in Ligue One last season and avoid relegation - just a few weeks after they received a battering in the French Cup final. They have a few talented players at their disposal and they look a far better team this time around, but there’s always the risk of them losing confidence and going on a major skid again.
Last weekend, Nantes and Metz played out what proved to be a pretty competitive game. In the end, though, we got what some would consider to be a surprise result, as Metz secured a 2-0 win to give their survival hopes a real injection of life.
Match PredictionMarseille and Nantes are both interesting teams to watch but in terms of overall quality, we have to give the edge to the hosts in this one. Alas, we don’t think they’re going to be too ‘extravagant’ in front of goal, which is why our official prediction is under 2.5 goals scored.