Marseille host to Saint-Etienne at the Orange Velodrome in the Thursday encounter of Ligue 1 2020-21.
Match Timing: Sep 18, 12:30 AM IST
Team Preview
Marseille and Saint-Etienne are boosted after a positive start to their Ligue 1 campaign. Marseille edged past Brest and Paris Saint-Germain in their opening fixtures. Their most important victory came against the defending champions PSG and it was their first victory since 2011. Florian Thauvin's strike created a whole difference for Marseille, despite receiving two red cards in the game, including Jordan Amavi and Dario Benedetto who will be out of the contention now. Les Olympiens stands at the fifth spot and they are only one point below Lille, Monaco, and Rennes.
Meanwhile, Saint-Etienne are also on the same boat after securing two back to back victories against Lorient and Strasbourg with a 2-0 scoreline. Bouanga netted the first goal in the 57th minute through penalty and Camara scored the second in the 82nd minute to add three points. Claude Puel's side have lost seven games on straight in away fixtures in Ligue 1. They won only four away matches throughout the c2019-20 campaign. Saint-Etienne requires just one point to claim the first spot.
Team News & Possible Lineups
Marseille
Marseille will be without Amavi and Benedetto after having a red card in the previous encounter. Bouna Sarr and Morgan Sanson are expected to miss out due to the injury. Yuto Nagamoto is likely to start in on the left-hand side of the defence.
Lineups: Mandanda; Sakai, Caleta-Car, Balerdi, Nagamoto; Kamara, Strootman, Rongier; Thauvin, Germain, Payet
Saint-Etienne
Left-back Miguel Trauco has been recovered from coronavirus. Arnaud Nordin is not expected to play in Thursday’s tie.
Lineups: Moulin; Debuchy, Fofana, Kolodziejczak, Macon; Neyou, Camara; Abi, Aouchiche, Bouanga; Hamouma
Key Players
Marseille
Dimitri Payet
9 goals in Ligue 1 2019-20
Valere Garmain
2 goals in Ligue 1 2019-20
Saint-Etienne
Denis Bouanga
10 goals in Ligue 1 2019-20
Romain Hamouma
6 goals in Ligue 1 2019-20
