13 August 2021, 22:13 | 28 August 2021, 15:29
French Ligue 1 fixture, Olympique Marseille vs. F.C. Girondins de Bordeaux kicks off at 19:45 (GMT+1) on Sunday, August 15 at the Stade Vélodrome.
Preview Olympique Marseille Ligue 1, Aug 15, 2021
Preview Olympique de Marseille completed the comeback in the five-goal thriller against Montpellier on the road last Sunday, the 8th of August. An own goal by Luan Peres (30'O.G.) at the stroke of halftime saw the home side in the lead before Gaetan Laborde (34') doubled Montpellier's lead four minutes later. OM pressed for a goal and eventually found one through Cengiz Under (68') minutes after the interval. An exquisite free-kick by Dimitri Payet (75') through the wall with a quarter of an hour left on the clock saw Marseille level the scoreline. The French forward produced another moment of quality five minutes later (80') when he tucked in the assist from Pape Gueye for the brace, leaving new coach, Jorge Sampaoli with a win on his debut in the coaching seat for Olympique Marseille. The victory leaves Marseille in 3rd place with 3 points and a goal difference of +1. On Sunday, Sampaoli would be looking to pick up back-to-back victories when his side welcomes Bordeaux to the Stade Vélodrome. A win on home soil will re-iterate the message, telling all that Olympique Marseille are title contenders. The Olympians adopted an unconventional 3--3--3--1 formation on Match Day 1 with Dimitri Payet leading the attack. A similar formation could be seen again on Match Day 2. He would be looking to add to his goal tally after bagging a morale-boosting brace on the opening day of the season. Duje Caleta-Car tested positive for coronavirus is expected to miss this fixture.
Preview Bordeaux Ligue 1, Aug 15, 2021
Preview Meanwhile, F.C. Girondins de Bordeaux return behind the 2-0 defeat to Ligue 1 newcomers, Clermont Foot on the opening day of the season. They were in contention for a point but late goals from Mohamed Bayo (82') and Jodel Dossou (90') saw them pick up their first defeat on home soil. The defeat left them with no points and in 19th place on the Ligue 1 table coupled with a goal difference of -2. Vladimir Petković would be looking to remedy the current situation with at least a point on the road when they take on OM for their second appearance of the season. A 4--2--3--1 formation with Briand leading the front line could be on the cards for coach Vladimir Petković when his side return on Match Day 2. Bordeaux will be without Paul Baysse who is sidelined with a cruciate ligament rupture. He is expected to be unavailable for the squad for several months.