Our prediction for this Ligue 1 match:
All eyes will be on Stade Louis II when Monaco and Olympique Marseille face each other in the Ligue 1 derby. Les Rouges et Blancs are eyeing their third consecutive league win, and they must be high on spirits ahead of Sunday’s showdown. With no fresh injury worries to report, Phillipe Clement is unlikely to make changes to the team that defeated Toulouse at the weekend. The good news for the hosts is that Benoit Badiashile is back from suspension.
Meanwhile, OM aim to build on a hard-fought 1-0 win over Olympique Lyon. Marseille and Monaco seem to be evenly matched at the moment, and, taking everything into account, draw seems like a good betting option for the Ligue 1 derby. Dimitri Payet is pushing for a start, while Igor Tudor has no fresh selection worries ahead of the trip to Monaco.
Highlighted Player (Thomas Didillon):
Thomas Didillon joined Metz football academy at the age of 11 and he spent no less than six years at the club. The 193-cm-tall goalkeeper made his debut for the Metz first team on May 16, 2014 in a goalless draw with Stade Lavallois and he made 27 appearances for the club in the 2015/2016 Ligue 2 campaign.
Didillon managed to keep 13 clean sheets for the club during the season and, no doubt, he helped Metz secure promotion to the French top flight. The French shoot-stopper played 32 games for les Grenats in the 2016/2017 Ligue 1 campaign and he kept nine clean sheets, while conceding 64 goals in the process.
During the 2014/2015 season Thomas Didillon played for Belgium side RFC Seraing on loan and, speaking of his international career, the goalkeeper represented France U16, U18, U19, U20 and U21 teams in the past. Didillon was born in Seclin (France) on November 28, 1995 and his preferred foot is left.
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.