09 September 2021, 16:50 | 28 August 2021, 15:29
The French Ligue 1 fixture, AS Monaco vs. Olympique Marseille, kicks off at 20:00 (GMT+1) on Saturday, September 11 at the Stade Louis II.
Preview Monaco Ligue 1, Sep 11, 2021
Preview AS Monaco picked up their first win of the season on Matchday 4 after the 2-1 victory over Ligue 1 newcomers, Troyes at the Stade de l'Aube. Les Monégasques got off to a great start and had a chance to score early on, but Gelson Martins fired over the crossbar and into the crowd despite being inside the six-yard box. Minutes later, he was involved in another episode in the final third which saw Aurélien Tchouaméni's curling effort strike the frame of goal, leaving an impressed Niko Kovac applauding from the sideline. Five minutes to the stroke of half-time, Sofiane Diop (40') put Monaco in front thanks to an assist from Wissam Ben Yedder. Troyes had struck the woodwork before a helping hand in the shape of an own goal by Ruben Aguilar (51' O.G.) saw them level the scoreline. But an exquisite pass, threaded through a pocket of space by Youssouf Fofana rendered the Troyes wall of blue ineffective in their defensive duties as Sofiane Diop (58') tucked the ball away for the brace. The victory leaves Monaco in 14th place with 4 points after 1W, 1D, & 2L, which translates into a domestic form that reads: DLLW. Les Monégasques have scored only three goals this season while conceding five. It leaves them with a G.D. of -2. On the goal-scoring numbers, they boast of a goal ratio of 0.75 goals per game, a number deemed too poor to break out of the lower half of the table. Coach Niko Kovac is expected to adopt the attacking 4—2—3—1 formation with Ben Yedder at the top of the shape for this game. A win will be on his mind ahead of Monaco's Europa Cup fixture against SK Sturm Graz on Thursday. On availability, Aleksandr Golovin remains sidelined with a hip injury.
Preview Olympique Marseille Ligue 1, Sep 11, 2021
Preview Marseille remains unbeaten in three games: WDW, pending the outcome of the suspended game against OGC Nice. They defeated St-Etienne, 3-1, in their last game and are 5th on the table after picking up 7 points from 2W, 1D & 0L. They have 8 goals but conceded 5, which leaves them with a G.D. of +3 and a goal ratio of 2.67 goals per game. Coach Jorge Sampaoli will aim for a win which could see Marseille inside the top-three, assuming favorable outcomes appear in other Matchday 5 fixtures. Fourth-placed OGC Nice take on F.C. Nantes, while third-placed Clermont Foot have a difficult game against PSG. Sampaoli could line up with three at the back in an attacking 3—4—3 formation with Dimitri Payet playing through the middle. Arkadiusz Milik is ruled out of this fixture with a knee injury.