Our prediction for this Ligue 1 match:
Stade Bollaert-Delelis will host Wednesday’s Ligue 1 game between Lens and Olympique Marseille. The Yellow-Reds continue where they left in the first half of the season, with the team beating Montpellier on the road in their last league match. Lens aim to keep their Europa League hopes alive, and we are positive that they will go for a win in the midweek clash. Both Ganapo and Traore are likely to miss the game with injuries, while Gradit is back from suspension.
OM, on the other hand, aim to bounce back from a 3-1 loss to Monaco. Andre Villas-Boas’ men were not in action at the weekend, meaning that tired legs are unlikely to prove to be a big problem for the visiting team. Given OM’s attacking potential, both teams to score betting option should be considered. Defender Jordan Amavi should be the only absentee in the away team.
Highlighted Player (Gael Kakuta):
Gael Kakuta is a winger who plays for La Liga side Rayo Vallecano. Kakuta is the product of Chelsea youth academy, but he made no more than 6 appearances in the Premier League for the Blues. After spending five seasons on loan with Fulham, Bolton, Dijon, Vitesse, Lazio and Rayo Vallecano, the French footballer moved to Sevilla in the 2015/2016 La Liga campaign.
Gael Kakuta, though, played only two games for the Andalusian side in the Spanish top flight as he soon moved to China. After ending his spell with Hebei China Fortune, Kakuta returns to Spain, with the pacey winger signing a loan deal with Deportivo La Coruna. Gael Kakuta, who was born in Lille, France on June 21, 1991, moved to Rayo Vallecano in 2018, signing a four-year deal with the capital club.
Speaking of his international career, the 173-cm-tall footballer scored 6 goals in 18 appearances for France U21 team, but he represents DR Congo on the 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.