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

Les Phoceens were impressive winners in the Europa League on Thursday night against Villarreal, whilst Les Canaris were unable to get the better of strugglers Metz during their most-recent fixture.

Match preview

Marseille extended their winning run at the start of Jean-Louis Gasset's tenure in the managerial hotseat to four matches on Thursday night in the Europa League, beating La Liga powerhouses Villarreal 4-0 at Orange Velodrome, embarrassing former boss Marcelino Garcia on his return to the south of France.

Les Phoceens raced into a three-goal lead at the half-time interval courtesy of strikes from Jordan Veretout and the Europa League's all-time leading goalscorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - alongside a Yerson Mosquera own goal, before the former Arsenal marksman secured his brace in the second period.

Since the departure of Gennaro Gattuso in February, Marseille have recorded four-straight victories across Ligue 1 and the Europa League, scoring 16 goals in the process, including five in their most-recent league fixture at bottom side Clermont Foot last weekend.

Six points from an available six domestically under the highly-experienced Gasset has allowed Les Phoceens to move up to seventh place in the Ligue 1 standings, now just six points behind third-placed Monaco and only four behind Francesco Farioli's Nice outfit in fifth position.

Marseille are yet to taste defeat at their Orange Velodrome fortress this season, winning seven and drawing five of their 12 league matches in front of their own supporters - only league leaders Paris Saint-Germain (27) and Paulo Fonseca's Lille (26) can match Marseille's tally of 26 on home soil in 2023-24.

After beating fellow relegation candidates Lorient by a single goal a week earlier, Nantes hosted top-flight newcomers Metz last Sunday hoping to end a torrid run of four-straight defeats at Stade de la Beaujoire, however Les Canaris were unable to earn any points from the contest.

With Nigeria international Moses Simon and Mostafa Mohamed missing big chances for the hosts in the first half, the relegation-threatened visitors rallied in the second period to secure a much-need success, with Ajax loanee Georges Mikautadze and captain Matthieu Udol breaching the net of Alban Lafont.

Following a nervy 2022-23 campaign in which Nantes avoided relegation to the second tier by just a single point, Jocelyn Gourvennec faces a difficult job in securing his club's status in the top flight for a 12th-successive campaign, with Sunday's hosts currently two points ahead of 16th-placed Montpellier HSC.

Almost immediately after conceding a spot kick in the defeat to Metz, Egypt international Mohamed was substituted by head coach Gourvennec, although the 26-year-old remains a vitally-important figure for Les Canaris, netting three more goals than any of his teammates so far in Ligue 1.

Despite winning just two of their last eight matches across all competitions, Nantes can draw confidence ahead of Sunday from the fact that they have been victorious in back-to-back away games over the past month, beating Toulouse on February 11 before collect maximum points at Lorient on February 24.

Marseille Ligue 1 form:

D

L

D

L

W

W

Marseille form (all competitions):

D

L

W

W

W

W

Nantes Ligue 1 form:

D

L

W

L

W

L

Team News

After struggling with a minor knock which saw him miss out on the thrashing of Clermont Foot, Veretout regained his spot in the Marseille XI on Thursday and should play alongside the likes of Geoffrey Kondogbia and Amine Harit once again.

Former Everton man Pape Gueye will return to Les Phoceens' squad after being ineligible to feature in the Europa League, and the same can be said for left-back Ulisses Garcia, who will be targeting Quentin Merlin's spot in the side.

Gasset remains without the services of both Michael Murillo and Valentin Rongier, who are occupying places in the medical room due to muscle and knee issues respectively.

Nantes' options in attack are limited by the absence of striker Ignatius Ganago, with the 25-year-old out for the remainder of the campaign due to a cruciate ligament injury.

January signing Kelvin Amian only managed two Ligue 1 appearances before suffering a hamstring strain in early February - it is hoped that the right-back will be back in contention following the international break.

Nicolas Cozza continues to impress at left-back after his arrival from Bundesliga side Wolfsburg, with the 25-year-old doing enough to keep Jean-Kevin Duverne out of the backline.

Marseille possible starting lineup:

Lopez; Clauss, Mbemba, Balerdi, Merlin; Ounahi, Gueye, Harit; Sarr, Aubameyang, Ndiaye

Nantes possible starting lineup:

Lafont; Castelletto; Pallois, Zeze, Cozza; Mollet, Augusto, Chirivella; Traore, Mohamed, Simon

We say: Marseille 3-1 Nantes

Enjoying a new lease of life under the expert tutelage of Gasset, Marseille will be confident of securing a third-straight Ligue 1 win on Sunday night.

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