Metz vs Marseille

Stade Saint-Symphorien is the venue as newly-promoted Metz and out-of-sorts Marseille lock horns in an exciting Ligue 1 match-up.

Metz suffered a morale-damaging 5-1 defeat at Rennes upon their Ligue 1 return after a season-long absence last weekend, prompting manager Laszlo Boloni to urge the board for attacking reinforcements in the aftermath. The ‘Maroons’ come into proceedings on an underwhelming run of consecutive top-flight losses, having gone down 5-0 to perennial champions PSG on the final matchday of their fateful 2021/22 season. Marseille’s visit to the Stade Saint-Symphorien looks ominous on paper, but Metz could still pull off an upset after earning four draws in their last five league H2Hs (L1). Considering they’re unbeaten in all nine competitive home outings in 2023 (W5, D4), the hosts have another reason for optimism. Yet it’s worth noting that each game in that sequence came against second-tier opponents.

In the meantime, Marcelino’s managerial tenure at Marseille was off to a flying start as ‘Les Olympiens’ came from behind to beat last season’s Ligue 1 surprise package Reims 2-1 on the opening weekend. However, Marcelino’s fairytale turned into a nightmare in midweek Champions League action, with Panathinaikos crashing his side out of the third qualifying round. Given they’ve had little time to recover from a heartbreaking European loss, Marseille would be correct to doubt their bid to arrest a three-game losing streak away from home in Ligue 1. If it’s any consolation, they’ve emerged victorious twice on their last four top-flight visits to Metz (D2) despite only managing one clean sheet in this run of H2Hs.