Marseille V Lorient: Niang to fire Marseille top of French Ligue 1?

Marseille V Lorient – Sunday, 7^th March, 16:00 GMT

Matt’s Selection: Marseille to WIN @ 1.50 SkyBet (LOST!)

Alternative: Mamadou Niang Anytime Scorer @ 2.10 Bet365 (WON!)

With Ligue 1 leaders Bordeaux playing just a few hours later, Marseille have the chance to put themselves top of the league with an emphatic victory at home to a difficult Lorient. A three goal winning margin would be enough to achieve this, but we won’t push our luck by going all sentimental and will instead play safe with the back of Marseille to win, albeit at slim odds.

Marseille will be involved in Europa League action this coming Thursday but that won’t deter manager Didier Deschamps from fielding the strongest possible side for this clash with mid-table Lorient as it’s a fixture they simply must win if they are to harbour any serious title aspirations. Their form, however, is neon perfect, with four wins in succession under their belts, all of which were impressive, even emphatic in some case. Comprehensive wins at home to Valenciennes (5-1) and Nancy (3-1) were accompanied by two accomplished victories away at Monaco (1-2) and PSG (0-3), with the latter the most impressive of the lot, plus it was their very last outing in Ligue 1.

Marseille are the in form side of the two teams, with these huge wins not only leading to a rise up the table but also in confidence levels for the players, while they’ve been absolutely lethal in front of goal during this four game winning streak of theirs; scoring thirteen in four league games. Moreover, the evergreen Mamadou Niang is bang-in-form for ‘OM’ after scoring in each of their previous three home games, scoring six in three at the Stade Veldrome, home of title chasing Marseille, while he bagged a classy hat-trick in his sides most recent win at home, that 3-1 success against Nancy.

Marseille are a team at their peak right now, plus they have the pace and guile of a high-spirited Niang up front. Up against a Lorient side whom can be a handful on their day but have been a tad too inconsistent of late, having lost three of their previous six league encounters and suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat in their very last league outing, Marseille should prove too strong as they continue their relentless pursuit of top spot with their fifth league win on the spin.