Our prediction for this Ligue 1 match:
All eyes will be on Stade Pierre-Mauroy when Lille and Olympique Marseille go head to head in the Ligue 1 derby on Friday. Les Dogues proved their worth in a 2-1 win over Lens, but they need to keep on winning in the season finale if they are to make it to the Champions League. A man to keep an eye on in the home team will be Kosovo international Edon Zhegrova, who scored a brace against les Sang et Or, while all Andre Gomes, Tiago Morais, Rafael Fernandes, Andrej Ilic, and Samuel Umtiti remain in the recovery room.
OM, on the other hand, failed to impress in back-to-back defeats to Rennes and PSG, which is probably the main reason why we are going to bet on the home side. As for the away team, all Jean Onana, Ismaila Sarr, Jonathan Clauss, Bamo Meite, Amir Murillo, and Valentin Rongier remain on the sidelines with injuries.
Highlighted Player (Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang):
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the most famous Gabonese player and he is the first footballer from Gabon to appear in Bundesliga. Aubameyang played for the likes of Dijon, Lille, Monaco and St. Etienne in the past before joining Borussia Dortmund on July, 2013. The pacey attacker signed a five-year contract with the Millionaires and he has been producing outstanding performances with the Signal-Iduna-Park outfit ever since.
Aubameyang impressed in the 2015–16 Bundesliga, scoring 25 goals in 31 appearances for Borussia Dortmund, but that did not help Thomas Tuchel’s men win the domestic trophy. Speaking of his international career, the 187-cm-tall striker made his Gabon debut on 25 March, 2009 and he scored his first goal for the national team in a 3-2 win over Morocco.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang helped Gabon make it to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals. It has to be noted, though, that he played for France U-21 team in the past. Aubameyang was born in Laval, France on 18 June, 1989.
Highlighted Team (Lille):
Lille have been playing an important role in French football ever since they were founded in 1944. Les Dogues won their first domestic trophy in the 1945/1946 season.
Lille did well to win their second Ligue 1 title in 1954 and 57 years later they lifted their last domestic title. Les Douges finished the 2010/2011 season in top position in the standings, eight points clear of second-placed Olympique Marseille and it has to be noted that Lille attacker Moussa Sow won the Golden Boot (25 goals).
Lille are one of the two teams that managed to win three consecutive Coupe de France trophies (1946, 1947, 1948), but they have yet to clinch the Coupe de la Ligue title. Les Dogues faced PSG in the 2015/2016 Coupe de la Ligue trophy, but les Parisiens proved to be a big catch for Frederic Antonetti’s team in the title game.
Lille play their home matches at Stade Pierre-Mauroy and the capacity of the stadium is 50.186. The venue was opened in August, 2017 and the construction cost €282 million.