Amid continued uncertainty over whether the game will actually go ahead, Bordeaux are due to welcome Marseille to the Matmut Atlantique for Friday's Ligue 1 battle.

A youthful Girondins outfit lost 3-0 to Brest in the Coupe de France on Sunday, while Jorge Sampaoli's men won by the same scoreline against US Chauvigny.

Match preview

With as many as 17 first-team players returning positive COVID-19 tests in recent days, Bordeaux have formally requested the postponement of this fixture, but at the time of writing the game at the Matmut Atlantique is due to go ahead as scheduled.

Bordeaux's coronavirus cluster forced them to field a heavily-weakened team against a near full-strength Brest XI in the Coupe de France at the weekend, and Vladimir Petkovic's side succumbed to goals from Steve Mounie, Romain Faivre and Jeremy Le Douaron on the day.

Such a result was a very harsh reality check after their previous 10-0 win over Les Jumeaux M'Zouasia in the earlier rounds, and a 3-2 defeat to Lille in the league just before the winter break sees Bordeaux sit 17th in the table - just one clear of Metz in the playoff places.

On-field and off-field issues continue to bedevil this historical French club, who have only won one of their last seven games in the French top flight and are not adept at keeping the back door shut - conceding 19 goals in that miserable streak.

No team conceded more than Bordeaux's 43 during the first half of the Ligue 1 season, and if they are forced to play this contest with a severely depleted squad, that statistic will only worsen over the course of 90 minutes on Friday.

It was a totally different story for Sampaoli's strong Marseille side in the Coupe de France, as fifth-tier side US Chauvigny were outplayed and outfought in a comprehensive 3-0 loss at the weekend.

Cengiz Under, Amine Harit and Arkadiusz Milik were all on target for Les Olympiens, who may have expected to score more on the day given the calibre of their opponents, but a safe passage into the next round was the ultimate goal for Sampaoli and co.

2021 was somewhat of a mixed bag for Marseille, who have now won four of their last five across all tournaments, but they remain third in the Ligue 1 standings and are level on points with second-placed Nice having played a game fewer.

As Paris Saint-Germain ride off into the sunset, Marseille are firmly fighting to be the best of the rest, and they travel to the Matmut Atlantique having won each of their last three Ligue 1 away games without conceding a single goal.

Bordeaux did manage to hold Marseille to a 2-2 draw on home soil during their first meeting of the season back in August, but that stretched their winless streak against Les Olympiens to five matches since a 2-0 home win in April 2019.

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As well as their reported 17 coronavirus cases, Bordeaux have also lost Jean Onana and Gideon Mensah - neither of whom were involved on Sunday - to Africa Cup of Nations duty.

Paul Baysse is a long-term absentee with his ACL injury, and Petkovic's situation was made even more challenging with Jimmy Briand and Amadou Traore coming off injured in the Coupe de France defeat.

Hwang Ui-jo, Javairo Dilrosun and Alberth Elis were all able to form a familiar frontline for Bordeaux in the cup, but a number of academy products will once again be required elsewhere.

Marseille also have two AFCON representatives of their own, as Pape Gueye and Bamba Dieng - who is serving a three-game ban anyway - are representing Senegal.

With no reported injury or COVID-19 concerns to contend with - barring Valentin Rongier's foot issue - Sampaoli will have the luxury of picking from a near full-strength squad, as Pau Lopez prepares to replace Steve Mandanda in goal.

Some of the visitors' fringe players can feel hopeful of earning minutes against this ravaged Bordeaux side, though, with Harit and Jordan Amavi hoping to earn rare starts.

Bordeaux possible starting lineup:
Rouyard; Aggoun, Pembele, Atallah, Louisjean; Elis, Pascal, Depussay, Dilrosun; Hwang, Maja

Marseille possible starting lineup:
Lopez; Saliba, Caleta-Car, Peres; Lirola, Kamara, Guendouzi, Amavi; Gerson, Payet; Milik

We say: Bordeaux 0-4 Marseille

It is incredibly difficult to see this game going ahead in the circumstances, but should the authorities toss aside Bordeaux's postponement request, the hosts will be in for a rough ride.

Marseille are in the driving seat when it comes to Champions League qualification and should not rest on their laurels no matter the opposition, so a resounding Olympiens win is surely on the cards.

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