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Ligue 1 | Gameweek 34
Apr 24, 2022 at 7.45pm UK
Stade Auguste Delaune
M

Reims
0 - 1
Marseille


Locko (28')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Gerson (83')
Peres (5')

Preview: Reims vs. Marseille - prediction, team news, lineups

:Headline: Preview: Reims vs. Marseille - prediction, team news, lineups:
Sports Mole previews Sunday's Ligue 1 clash between Reims and Marseille, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Sports Mole

Marseille will aim to remain in the driving seat for a second-placed finish in Ligue 1 when they travel to the Stade Auguste-Delaune to take on Reims on Sunday night.

Jorge Sampaoli's side came from behind to beat Nantes 3-2 on Wednesday, while the hosts left it late to beat Lille 2-1 in dramatic fashion.


Match preview

Even Reims captain Yunis Abdelhamid was stunned into disbelief after his delightful late winner during the visit of champions Lille, as Oscar Garcia's side waited until the 92nd minute to sink Les Dogues' unfamiliar first XI in front of their own fans.

Marshall Munetsi scrambled home the opening goal just after the half-hour mark before Renato Sanches responded for Lille with a thunderbolt from outside the area, but 34-year-old centre-back Abdelhamid curled in an equally sublime effort with seconds remaining to propel Reims to all three points.

By ending a four-game winless run in the top flight, Reims have all but assured their place in Ligue 1 for the 2022-23 season and currently sit 13th in the table - 13 points clear of the bottom two with only five games remaining - so their survival could be guaranteed if results go their way this weekend.

Securing their Ligue 1 status with a youthful side can no doubt be viewed as a success on Garcia's part, although he will seemingly be waving goodbye to in-demand striker Hugo Ekitike in the summer and will hope to have the 19-year-old back from injury for one last swansong before the season is over.

The visit of Marseille represents another challenging end-of-season home test for Reims, who have lost just one of their last six Ligue 1 games at the Stade Auguste-Delaune but must also welcome Lens and Nice to their Marne headquarters in the final few weeks of the campaign.

At the time of writing, it is still mathematically possible for Marseille to somehow pip Paris Saint-Germain to the Ligue 1 title on goal difference, but Mauricio Pochettino's side need only a point to confirm their status as French champions during Saturday's clash with Lens.

As a result, Les Olympiens will simply try to end the season as the best of the rest, and they aided that goal with a comeback win over Nantes in midweek, as a pair of Dimitri Payet penalties and Amine Harit's winner cancelled out Andrei Girotto's header and Marcus Coco's exquisite volley.

Had Jorge Sampaoli's side failed to come back and take all three points at the Orange Velodrome, PSG would have wrapped up the title on Wednesday, but the second-placed Olympiens remain 15 points adrift of the runaway leaders with five games left to play and have a return to the Champions League firmly in their sights.

Marseille remain six points clear of the chasing pack in Rennes, Strasbourg and Monaco and have now won nine of their last 10 in all competitions during a remarkable end-of-season spell, with the only outlier in that sequence being the Classique defeat to PSG.

Sampaoli may already have one eye on his side's Conference League semi-final with Feyenoord, but no side has accrued more points on the road than Marseille (33) in Ligue 1 this term, although they were forced to shake hands on a 1-1 draw with Reims at home just before Christmas.

Reims Ligue 1 form:
  • W
  • D
  • L
  • L
  • D
  • W

Marseille Ligue 1 form:
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • W

Marseille form (all competitions):
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • W

Team News

Once again, the majority of Reims' injury concerns lie in the attacking third, with Ekitike still sidelined with a hamstring problem alongside fellow strikers and ankle victims Fraser Hornby and Anastasios Donis.

Nicolas Penneteau also missed the win over Lille due to injury, but the 41-year-old goalkeeper was never going to earn any minutes anyway, while Moreto Cassama was left out of the squad - seemingly a tactical choice by Garcia.

The hosting manager will aim to avoid making any alterations to a winning formula if he can help it, but Thomas Foket and El Bilal Toure could be drafted in if fatigue comes into play.

Meanwhile, Marseille could not keep their treatment room empty forever amid their hectic schedule, and Sampaoli has lost Konrad de la Fuente and Leonardo Balerdi for the rest of the season to knee and shoulder injuries respectively.

Cengiz Under lasted just 45 minutes of Le Classique and missed out altogether against Nantes with that knee injury, but Arkadiusz Milik returned as a substitute on Wednesday to boost the visitors' attacking options.

Sampaoli will certainly be tempted to rest Payet for the semi-final first leg with Feyenoord and can afford to do so with Milik and Bamba Dieng waiting in the wings, while Valentin Rongier could return to his new-found right-back role in a slightly altered XI.

Reims possible starting lineup:
Rajkovic; Foket, Faes, Abdelhamid, Gravillon, Konan; Cajuste, Munesti, Matusiwa; Toure, Kebbal

Marseille possible starting lineup:
Lopez; Rongier, Saliba, Caleta-Car, Peres; Gueye, Kamara, Guendouzi; Harit, Milik, Dieng


We say: Reims 0-2 Marseille

Marseille may be spending their Saturday evening watching PSG end their already-slim title hopes for good, but second place is still in their hands, and they will be in no mood to end their hot streak at the Stade Auguste-Delaune.

Getting one over the reigning champions is nothing to be sniffed at for Reims, but the options for rotation at Sampaoli's disposal makes it difficult to envisage Garcia's youthful side making lightning strike twice in front of the home crowd.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals 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.Over 1.5:data




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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Paris Saint-GermainPSG1192033102329
2MonacoMonaco117221881023
3Marseille116232415920
4Lille115421811719
5Lyon115331815318
6Nice1145221111017
7Reims115241915417
8Lens11452129317
9Auxerre115152019116
10Toulouse114341311215
11StrasbourgStrasbourg113442022-213
12Brest114161419-513
13Rennes113261318-511
14NantesNantes112451417-310
15Angers112451320-710
16Saint-EtienneSt Etienne113171025-1510
17Le HavreLe Havre11308823-159
18Montpellier HSCMontpellier112181131-207
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