Marseille vs Lyon Prediction - A Battle For A Place At Europa League At Vélodrome

Next Sunday, the former European champions Marseille will take on Lyon at the emblematic Stade Vélodrome for round 36 of the French Ligue 1, on what will be a battle between two sides that have been clearly underachieving this season.

Marseille have somehow compromised their presence at the UEFA Europa League next season thanks to their last week’s 1-1 draw against Nantes. L’OM are having a season to forget and, despite some recent improvements, they have failed to erase the awful campaign they have made so far from their supporters minds.

The match against Lyon next Sunday is of paramount importance for José Anigo’s side, although they do not depend only on themselves to grant a place at UEFA competitions next season. Marseille will need to win the three remaining matches of Ligue 1 and hope for Saint-Éttiene and Lyon to stumble on all of them, that is if they still want to nurture their dream of playing at UEFA Europa League next season.

For next Sunday’s match against Lyon, José Anigo is not yet certain if he will have the French midfielders Mathieu Valbuena, and Mario Lemina at his disposal, since both of them are still recovering from recent injuries.

As for Lyon, the match at Vélodrome is also very important if they still want to reach Saint-Éttiene at the fourth place of the table. Les Gones will almost certainly grant a place in the UEFA Europa League next season and they are just waiting for PSG to claim the Ligue 1 title in order to celebrate that. The reason for this is that Lyon was defeat by PSG at the Coupe de la Ligue final and, due to that, and if the Parisiens win the Ligue 1 trophy, they will “offer” Lyon the right to play at the UEFA Europa.

Rémi Garde’s side has had a season to forget this term, and although they seem to be recovering recently, they have failed to pose any threat to the most recent French football giants: PSG and Monaco.

For the match at Vélodrome, the former French international Rémi Garde is not yet certain if he will be able to count on the Portuguese right back Miguel Lopes and on the French midfielders Yoann Gourcuff, Clement Grénier, and Gueida Fofana, all of them still recovering from their respective injuries.

When both sides met at Stade de Gerland back in December, the match ended in a 2-2 draw with goals from Thauvin and Gignac for the visitors and Lacazette and Gomis for the home side.

Next Sunday’s match will certainly also be a very close one but Marseille will probably enjoy a slight favouritism, since they are playing in front of their enthusiastic supporters and that will surely give the team some extra motivation.

Marseille

Stats: W-14 L-10 D-11

Recent Form - DWWDD

Lyon

Stats: W-16 L-9 D-10

Recent Form - LWWDW

Possible Line-ups

Marseille (4-3-3) - Mandanda - Nkoulou - Mendes - Mendy - Dja djedje - Cheyrou - Romao - Thauvin - Payet - Gignac - Ayew

Lyon (4-4-2) - Lopes - Bedimo - Kone - Umtiti - Tolisso - Ferri - Gonalons - Mvuemba - Lacazette - Gomis - Fekir

Prediction

Marseille 2 Lyon 1