Ligue 1 preview: http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Olympique-de-Marseille-c40127 Vs Evian TG
Under-pressure Ligue 1 side Olympique de Marseille will take on newly-promoted Evian TG in Week seven of the 2011/2012 Ligue 1 Championnat.
Les Phoceens are currently lying rock-bottom in the Ligue 1 standings and to add further misery to their cause, Didier Deschamps’ men are still without a win in the league. At the weekend, the Rhone giants lost 2-0 against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Olympique-Lyonnais-c40130 at the Stade
Gerland.
Goals from Bafetimbi Gomis and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Michel-Bastos-c25461 were enough to give Les Gones three points against a Marseille side that was not able to match Lyon’s excellent midfield play throughout the 90 minutes of the game.
Coming up against Evian, Didier Deschamps knows that another defeat could seriously jeopardise his side’s ambition of winning the Championelle and could even end the Frenchman’s reign as coach of Les Phoceens. Though club chairman Vincent Labrune has given
his backing to the under-fire manager, reports suggest that Deschamps is edging perilously close to getting the boot from the Marseille direction.
To add more pressure to Deschamps’ cause, new signings have not played well so far. Jury is out on http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alou-Diarra-c5259 who flopped miserably against Lyon and was substituted for Morgan Amalfitano during the interval.
Deschamps was criticised for starting Andre Ayew and Morgan Amalfitano from the bench while using Jeremy Morel as a winger. Cesar Azpilicueta had a torrid outing as a right-back in the game against Lyon when he was traumatised by an on-song Michel Bastos.
However, coming up against Evian could be the best time for Marseille. The newly-promoted side has made a pretty decent start to their first season in Ligue 1 and are currently in 10th place with seven points from six games.
At the weekend, Bernard Casoni’s men held Paris Saint-Germain to a 2-2 draw and could prove to be a tough opponent for Marseille who are playing at home. However, the Thonon-Gaillard-based outfit have not registered a win in three games and could be put
to the sword against a Marseille side that is desperate to record their first win of the campaign.
Probable starting XI
Marseille
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mathieu-Valbuena-c24690, Loic Remy
Evian
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Yannick-Sagbo-c37216, Jerome Leroy
Player to watch
Andre Ayew (Marseille)
The Ghanaian’s introduction in the second half of the 2-0 defeat to Lyon did give Deschamp’s a lot of attacking options and the youngster tried his best to link up with Loic Remy who was ineffective in the first half due to Marseille’s poor display in the
midfield.
Ayew will definitely cause Evian defenders a lot of problems and will play a crucial part in Marseille’s quest to win their first game of the season.
Predictions
Though Marseille are in a tight situation, Les Phoceens might be geared up to play well against an Evian side that will be looking to play on the counter.
Predicted final score; Marseille 1-0 Evian
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