Marseille Vs Metz
Marseille Vs Metz Saturday 26 September 2020 – 20:00 (GMT)
French Ligue 1
Pick: Under 2.5 Goals
Odds: 7/10
Bookmaker: Unibet
(All betting odds correct at time of writing: 23 September 2020)
Preview: To the Stade Velodrome on Saturday where the home side, Marseille, are looking to put a disappointing lull in form behind them when they welcome a Metz side in high spirits after picking up their first win of the season last time out.
French Ligue 1 Betting at 22Bet
Table of Contents
Marseille Preview – PSG triumph gone to their heads?
Since their memorable victory over PSG inside the Parc des Princes earlier in the month made it two wins out of two at the start of the new league season in France, results haven’t quiet been as expected. Andre Villas-Boas saw his side immediately lose the next fixture, slipping up at home to St Etienne in a 2-0 scoreline, before an 85th minute equalising goal from Valere Germain spared their blushes last time out.
Marseille weren’t good value for their 1-1 draw at the Stade Velodrome with Lille. Most of the best chances in the game were carved out by the visitors, who failed to capitalise on an early second-half lead despite generating twice as much Expected Goals (MAR 0.75 – 1.51 LIL) as their lacklustre hosts. The latter reliant on a rare headed goal from Germain, with the Frenchman benefiting from some sloppy marking at a corner.
Plenty for Villas-Boas to ponder then ahead of his side welcoming Metz, who recently made PSG sweat in the French capital, to Stade Velodrome. Full-back Jordan Amavi remains the only notable absentee. Although, with no goal in three appearances this season, the former Chelsea and Zenit manager must be mulling over whether to take last season’s 11-goal top scorer, Dario Benedetto, out of his initial XI.
Metz Preview – Confidence to flow following maiden win?
In spite of only winning three times in fourteen away outings in Ligue 1 last term, Metz still managed to put together a solid enough record (W3 D6 L5) and, at the point at which the league was abruptly halted before never returning, were ranked eighth of all twenty teams when it came to points registered in away fixtures. They never got round to trying their luck away to Marseille, something they can put right on Saturday.
If their early results are anything to go by, though, Metz could find themselves on the end of another slender defeat versus one of the divisions better outfits. Head coach Vincent Hognon, who steered this club to mid-table safety with relative ease in 2019/20, has already seen his team give good accounts of themselves against AS Monaco, Lille and even PSG only to end up on the wrong side of a 1-0 scoreline in all three.
Not to be undeterred, Les Grenats would eventually secure their first points of the campaign. A 2-1 victory at their Stade Municipal Saint-Symphorien over Stade Reims, leaving it late to snatch all three points courtesy of a brace from 21-year-old Senegalese forward Ibrahima Niane – taking him one shy of his tally (3) from 2019/20. The goal now, however, will be adding their first away points.
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Marseille Vs Metz Betting Advice
Late goals were a shared theme during the previous round in Ligue 1. Marseille barely avoided a second successive loss, after scoring five minutes from the end of normal time to salvage a 1-1 draw at home to Lille. As for Metz, they bagged a vital win – their first of the season, having lost all three prior fixtures – with a winning goal scored moments from the end. Both should arrive at Stade Velodrome in buoyant mood.
Marseille Vs Metz – Key Facts
- Andre Villas-Boas’ Marseille are now winless in across their last four Ligue 1 matches (D2 L2), having picked up one point from six in said matches so far this season.
- Each of Metz‘s first four Ligue 1 fixtures were settled by a solitary goal, losing the first three 1-0 before leaving it late to win 2-1 at home to Stade Reims in the last round.
- Marseille have won seven of the previous nine league meetings against Metz, whose most recent away win in this fixtures dates back to 2004 (L5 thereafter).
The most recent encounter here between the sides was a cracker; nine goals, six of them for Marseille; a Florian Thauvin hat-trick; and Ibrahima Niane, who was the two-goal hero for Metz last weekend, netted an injury time consolation to make the score 6-3 in favour of the home side. The chances of a repeat seem remote however, with both teams hovering just above a goal-a-game so far this season. 1-1 Draw.
Best Betting Odds – Marseille Vs Metz
Marseille – 13/20 (Unibet)
Draw – 16/5 (Betway)
Metz – 5/1 (Bet365)
