Marseille belatedly get their Ligue 1 campaign up and running on Sunday with a meeting against bottom side Brest at Stade Francis-Le Ble.
Les Phoceens' opening fixture against Saint-Etienne was postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak, while Brest were thumped 4-0 by Nimes on matchday one.
Match preview
Just short of six months since their most recent league outing, a 2-2 draw with Amiens, Marseille will be keen to mark their return to action with all three points on Sunday.
Andre Villas-Boas's men finished runners-up to Paris Saint-Germain in last season's shortened Ligue 1 campaign, albeit 12 points behind the runaway champions.
A season of Champions League football awaits Marseille, but the more immediate priority for Villas-Boas will be to string together some wins in order to put some pressure on PSG.
The Parisians reached the Champions League final and are not in league action for another couple of weeks, so Les Phoceens have a chance to open up a gap at the summit before then.
Marseille lost just one of their last 17 Ligue 1 games in 2019-20 - against Nantes in February - and won all but four of those.
They are also unbeaten in their last eight away top-flight matches, which is the best current run and their longest run since October 2015-March 2016 (11).
Getting off to a winning start is imperative to Villas-Boas, and a trip to Brest may just be the best way to ease themselves into the new campaign.
The Pirates were on the wrong end of a 4-0 battering by Nimes last weekend, with Kevin Denkey, Birger Meling, Romain Philippoteaux and Moussa Kone all on target for the hosts.
Brest have now failed to keep a clean sheet in 10 of their last 11 Ligue 1 games - the only exception being a goalless draw with Rennes in February.
Olivier Dall'Oglio will undoubtedly be after a response from his side, who ended last season with back-to-back losses without finding the net.
However, Brest have lost just one of their 10 home games against Marseille - albeit in the most recent clash in December 2012 - and will be looking to pull off an upset here.
Brest Ligue 1 form: L
Marseille pre-season form: WWLL
Team News
Marseille's opening game of the season was called off due to a high number of positive Covid-19 tests and the club announced some fresh cases in midweek.
They have been reluctant to reveal which players are self-isolating, but Villas-Boas has confirmed that he will be without Dimitri Payet, Alvaro Gonzalez and Bouna Sarr here.
Dario Benedetto impressed in his maiden campaign last time out and will lead the attack, while compatriot Leonardo Balerdi is in line for a competitive debut at centre-back.
In terms of the hosts, defender Christophe Herelle is a confirmed absentee as he recovers from coronavirus.
Brendan Chardonnet was sent off against Nimes last week and will serve a suspension, meanwhile, meaning that Hianga'a Mbock could come in.
Brest possible starting lineup:
Larsonneur; Pierre-Gabriel, M'Bock, Duverne, Perraud; Honorat, Diallo, Battocchio, Tavares; Cardona; Charbonnier
Marseille possible starting lineup:
Pele; Amavi, Kamara, Caleta-Carr, Sakai; Sanson, Strootman, Khaoui; Radonjic, Benedetto, Thauvin
We say: Brest 0-2 Marseille
Lyon and Marseille are realistically the only sides that can challenge PSG for the title this term. If that is to be the case, Villas-Boas's men simply cannot afford to slip up in games such as this one, and we are not expecting that to be the case.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting that both teams will score (BTTS - yes) in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.BTTS Yes:databody check tags ::
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