Soccer France Ligue 1 Prediction

⚽ 31 March 2023 - 19:00 GMT +0 

Marseille vs Montpellier - Match Preview

Marseille was building momentum prior to the international break (W2, D1) and a win here as Ligue 1 resumes would close the gap on leaders Paris Saint-Germain to four points as the season reaches its climax. After ending Reims’ remarkable unbeaten run with a 2-1 win last time out, Marseille is now eyeing up doing similar to Montpellier, who is unbeaten in six league fixtures (W5, D1).

But if they’re to manage that and apply some pressure on PSG, they’ll also have to end their four-match winless run in home league action (D2, L2), including most recently squandering a 2-0 lead at the 85th-minute mark to draw 2-2 with Strasbourg. Considering Les Olympiens haven’t conceded more than once in a home H2H since December 2015 (W6, D3) they’ll expect to hold firm if they find themselves in a similar position again.

Three straight league wins have eased Montpellier’s relegation fears and inched them towards the top half, which suggests they’ll make life difficult for the hosts, even if they haven’t won an H2H anywhere since November 2018 (D2, L6). A model of consistency, this is now the sixth consecutive season in which Montpellier have clocked up between 36 and 42 points after the 28-game mark, though that does leave them essentially just jostling for position for the rest of the season.

Being on 36 points suggests there’s room for improvement though, especially as they’ve only beaten one side and currently sitting in the top half this term (D2, L9). That sole win did come away from home though (2-0 v Lorient), and having secured four wins ‘to nil’ across their last six Ligue 1 road fixtures (L2), Montpellier will hope they can resume their campaign in a similar vein of form.

📋 Players to watch: Alexis Sánchez scored both goals for Marseille against Reims and netted for Chile in midweek too, with two of those strikes being equalisers. Elye Wahi has netted four times across Montpellier’s last three games, all of those goals arriving between the 60th and 75th minute.

⚡ Hot streak: Montpellier has won the last six league matches in which they scored first ‘to nil’.