Our prediction for this Ligue 1 match:
Lens
Match Time & Date:
22/01/2022
21:00
Prediction: 1-1
Marseille
Stade Bollaert-Delelis will host Saturday’s Ligue 1 game between Lens and Olympique Marseille, the two teams who are eyeing a place in European competitions. Lens aim to build on back-to-back wins over Rennes and St. Etienne, and they are surely capable of matching OM in front of home fans. Both Ignatius Ganago and Massadio Haidara are on international duty, while Deiver Machado continues to miss out with a meniscus problem.
Marseille, on the other hand, aim to retain their spot in top three. Since the visitors will go for a win in Saturday’s clash as well, we believe that there is a big value in betting on both teams to score. Both Ahmadou Bamba Dieng and Pape Gueye are on Africa Cup of Nations, while Konrad de la Fuente is sidelined with injury. In their last meeting at the venue the two teams played out a 2-2 draw.
Highlighted Player (Seko Fofana):
Born in Paris on May 7, 1995, Seko Fofana is a midfielder who plays for Serie A side Udinese. Fofana started his career at the youth teams of Paris FC and in 2010 he moved to Lorient. After spending four years at the club, the French footballer joined Premier League side Manchester City in the 2013/2014 season.
Despite being a Man City player from 2014 to 2016, Seko Fofana did not see any game action in the English top flight with the Citizens as he was immediately sent on loan to Fulham (2014/2015). He played for Bastia on loan in the 2015/2016 season as well and in the summer of 2016 he signed a five-year deal with Italian side Udinese.
You should know that Fofana scored five goals in 22 appearances for the Zebrette in the 2016/2017 Serie A campaign. His contract with the Serie A team should expire on June 30, 2022. Due to his dual citizenship the Udinese footballer is eligible to play for France and Ivory Coast at senior level.
Highlighted Team (Marseille):
Olympique de Marseille are considered one of the best French football clubs. Les Olympiens won their ninth Ligue 1 title in 2010, but winning of the 1992/1993 Champions League trophy is seen as the club’s biggest success. Marseille defeated Italian giants Milan in the title game, with Basile Boli scoring the winner (1-0) in the Olympiastadion showdown.
It has to be noted, though, that the Stade Velodrome outfit were banned from defending the title in the 1993/1994 season after being involved in a match-fixing scandal. To make things even worse for the fans, the club suffered enforced relegation to the Ligue 2. Olympique de Marseille participated in the Europa League final on two occasions (1998/1999, 2003/2004), but they were beaten by Parma and Valencia respectively in the title games. OM’s home ground Stade Velodrome was opened on June 13, 1997 and the capacity of the stadium is 67.394.
The likes of Franck Ribery, Didier Deschamps, Didier Drogba, Laurent Blanc, Fabien Barthez, Samir Nasri, Fabrizio Ravanelli and Djibril Cisse all played for Marseille in the past.
