Firmly embroiled in a relegation battle, Strasbourg will have appreciated the two week international break to ponder just where things are going wrong for them. Winless in five Ligue 1 games (D2, L3), Strasbourg come into this round just a point above the bottom three, but also just three points from seventh, which highlights just how quickly their season could turn around.
Strasbourg could actually leapfrog tenth-placed Marseille with a victory here, and having only won more historical Ligue 1 home games against two other current top-flight sides than their 22 against the Olympians, the chances seem plentiful. That is perhaps until you see the recent history in that sense, as Strasbourg haven’t won a Ligue 1 home H2H since April 2005 (D4, L3), including last season’s 2-2 draw in which they battled from 2-0 down.
They say lightning doesn’t strike twice, but it did last season for Marseille, who actually squandered a 2-0 lead in both H2Hs. It’s been much the same story for Marseille this season too, who have held on to win just two of the five Ligue 1 games they’ve scored first in, although just scoring at all would be a small win in itself at the moment for a side who have blanked in three league games in a row (D1, L2).
Two of those scoring blanks came on the road, forming part of a run of four straight away league defeats. Marseille’s plight doesn’t end there though, as they’re actually winless in nine top-flight road trips (D2, L7), a run which has left boss Gennaro Gattuso “worried”. And after questioning his players’ workrate after their 1-0 defeat against Lens prior to the international break, he’ll be expecting them to produce a response.
Players to watch: Never shy of making a late impact, Strasbourg’s Lebo Mothiba has netted all three of his goals this season after the hour mark. The last Marseille player to score a league goal back in early October, Ismaïla Sarr has netted the game’s last goal with three of his four strikes this term.
Hot stat: Strasbourg are the only Ligue 1 side not to score before half-time this season.
