Our prediction for this Ligue 1 match:
Sparkles will be flying when Olympique Marseille and Rennes lock horns at Stade Velodrome in the Ligue 1 derby. OM shared the spoils with Strasbourg in their last league match, but they are seen as favourites to beat les Rouges et Noirs in front of home fans. Defender Samuel Gigot is back from suspension, while both Valentin Rongier and Francois Mughe continue to miss out with injuries.
Rennes, on the other hand, aim to build on a 3-1 win over Reims, but beating Olympique Marseille on the road is easier said than accomplished. Taking everything into account, we predict that the two sides are going to share the spoils at Stade Velodrome. Rennes midfielder Guela Doue remains on the sidelines through suspension, but there are no fresh injury worries in the away team. Julien Stephan is likely to stick to the 3-4-3 formation, with Arnaud Kalimuendo up front as a lone-forward.
Highlighted Player (Flavien Tait):
Born in Longjumeau, France on February 2, 1993, Flavien Tait is a French footballer who plays for Angers as a midfielder. Tait began his youth career at Rodez and in 2010 he moved to Chateauroux. After spending first years of his senior career at Chateauroux, the 175-cm tall footballer joined Angers in 2016 and he has been playing for les Scoistes ever since.
Flavien Tait impressed in the 2017/2018 Ligue 1 campaign and it has to be noted that he scored 4 goals in 34 appearances for Angers in the process. His main position is winger, but he is often used as an attacking midfielder. Flavien Tait’s preferred foot is right and he wears No. 20 jersey at Angers.
His contract with les Scoistes should expire on June 30, 2020. It has to be noted that his market value was €4.5 million on June 4, 2018.Flavien Tait has yet to make his France debut.
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.