06 August 2021, 14:39 | 28 August 2021, 15:29
Ligue 1 fixture, Montpellier Hérault SC vs. Olympique Marseille kicks off at 19:45 (GMT+1) on Sunday, the 8th of August at the Stade de la Mosson with as many as 13,500 fans expected at the venue.
Preview Montpellier Ligue 1, Aug 8, 2021
Preview After a mid-table finish last season and subsequently failing to qualify for continental football, Montpellier will be targetting a top-six finish at the end of this season. To steel themselves for the difficult task ahead, they played several pre-season club friendlies. La Paillade picked up victories over German Bundesliga side, RB Leipzig, 2-1, and Ligue 2 side, Rodez AF, 1-0. However, they recorded defeats against Ligue 1 debutants, Clermont Foot 63, 3-2 and French National Championship side, FC Sète 34, 4-2. Another pre-season club friendly match ended in a 1-0 defeat to Metz. Montpellier saw a mass exodus of players with centre-back, Damien Le Tallec, attacking midfielder, Keagan Dolly and centre-forward, Bastian Badu exiting the club as free agents. However, Montpellier secured the signature of centre-back, Mamadou Sakho from Crystal Palace and central midfielder, Leo Leroy from LB Chateauroux as free agents. In what appeared to be an exchange, Olivier Dall'Oglio, formerly of Stade Brestois 29 replaced Michel Der Zakarian in the coaching seat while the latter departed to fill the vacant seat at Brest. Olivier Dall'Oglio is tipped to adopt an attacking 4—3—3 formation with the aim of scoring at least a point on home soil.
Preview Olympique Marseille Ligue 1, Aug 8, 2021
Preview Olympique de Marseille finished outside the top-four last season after facing several inconsistent patches in form over the course of the season. The tide of poor results was further aggravated by transfer disagreements between club and ex-coach, Andre Villas-Boas. Jorge Sampaoli arrived at the helm after the departure of Villas-Boas and guided OM to a 5th place finish and an automatic qualification for UEFA's Europa League. Marseille will be aiming for a top-three finish at the end of this season. I am expecting a lot from this season, club captain Steve Mandanda said in an interview with the daily La Provence. This club should always be looking to finish on the podium, he added. On the pre-season tour, the Olympians defeated Martigues, 3-0, FC Sète 34, 2-1, and Servette FC, 3-1 in club friendlies. They also defeated St. Etienne, 2-1 and Spanish side, Villarreal. OM picked up a 1-1 draw against S.C. Braga and also against Benfica. Matteo Guendouzi and centre-back, William Saliba, both from Arsenal joined the Olympians on a season-long loan. Cengiz Under also arrived on a similar arrangement from Roma after a difficult spell at Premier League side, Leicester City. A probable 3—4—1—2 formation with the duo: Dario Benedetto and Arkadiusz Milik leading the onslaught against Montpellier is expected on Sunday.