Reims vs Marseille

Marseille take a trip to the Stade Auguste-Delaune to meet mid-table Reims in a must-win Ligue 1 clash, with their European aspirations on the line. 

Reims’ life after manager Will Still departed on the back of a three-game losing streak got off to a decent start as they held Champions League hopefuls Brest to a hard-earned 1-1 draw on caretaker boss Samba Diawara’s touchline debut. Stranded in 11th in the Ligue 1 table, Reims could improve their final place in the standings across the final two rounds if only they can post their first win since mid-March. However, a six-game winless run paints a bleak picture (D3, L3), not least because they netted under 1.5 goals on each occasion. Marseille’s upcoming visit to town can’t inspire much confidence either, with Reims losing their last four top-flight H2Hs via an aggregate score of 9-3, including a 2-1 defeat in August’s reverse fixture.

Meanwhile, Marseille’s season has fallen apart after a 3-0 second-leg loss at Atalanta crashed them out of the Europa League semi-finals, effectively denying them the last chance to secure European qualification. Jean-Louis Gasset’s side bounced back with a 3-1 home triumph against Lorient at the weekend, extending their unbeaten league run to four matches (W2, D2). However, Les Olympiens have fared terribly on the road this season, with only 23% of their Ligue 1 points coming away from home (11/47). Indeed, they’ve only won twice on 15 travels this league campaign (D5, L8). Since a 5-1 thrashing of rock-bottom Clermont in early March, the visitors have picked up just one point on three Ligue 1 trips (D1, L2), conceding 2+ goals each time!