Marseille vs Lille Prediction: Expect high-scoring soccer

Before round seven starts, Marseille shares the lead in Ligue 1 with PSG, and now the Provençal side will face the last year's champion, Lille. The match will take place at the Stade Velodrome on September 10 at 22:00 (UTC+3). During the last 2 seasons, Marseille never defeated the current opponent. Will they be able to break this streak?

Despite having a lot of upheavals before the start of the season, Marseille looks surprisingly great. The roster has changed seriously in comparison with last season, but the newcomers in general fit well into the Provençal game. Alexis Sanchez has already scored three goals for the new team, Jonathan Clauss has made two assists, and Chancel Mbemba, Nuno Tavares, and Eric Bailly helped Marseille score twice. The Provençal players create a lot of chances at the other side's goal and are 4th in Ligue 1 in terms of xG. The defense is also generally all right, so it is not for nothing that the team shares the leadership with PSG, having won 5 victories in 6 games. It is good that Samuel Gigot and Dimitri Payet are back after injury. Now only Pedro Ruiz is in the sickbay, who has not played a single match for Marseille.

Igor Tudor had a chance to get at least a draw in Matchday 1 of the Champions League against Tottenham, but Chansel Mbemba's suspension threw everything off. On the whole, Marseille played decent defense but everything fell apart in the second half. The result was 0-2 in favor of the Spurs. Well, in the last match of Ligue 1, the Provençal side defeated Auxerre away with the same score. Marseille dominated the entire game, and the chances created would have been enough for a rout. However, the opponents could also make an impact: first, Pau Lopez neutralized a one-on-one situation, and then the Auxerre player missed from a good position. Marseille's win was legitimate, but there are still questions for the team.

Lille won 3 out of 6 matches of the championship, with a total of 10 points, and is now in 6th place in the table. Jonathan David and Jonathan Bamba did not go anywhere in the offseason, and in many ways, they are the ones who pulled the team into the top 6. Bamba and David have 11 points to their credit: 6 goals and 5 assists. Perhaps the newcomers of the club will somehow prove themselves, but meanwhile Adam Ounas and Andre Gomes didn't adjust themselves properly and played one match for Les Dogues. Timothy Weah would be useful in the attack, but the American forward missed the start of the season due to injury. Lille have no other losses, and just recently Remy Cabella is back.

Last Ligue 1 matchday saw Paulo Fonseca's men beat Montpellier 3-1 away. Lille started the meeting very actively, and by the 15th minute, they could have scored two goals: Cabella and Ismaily didn't convert their chances. As a result, Les Dogues conceded first, but with such a game in the attack it was not difficult to eliminate the handicap. Lille totaled 26 shots on goal, although the suspension helped a little. Les Dogues were on the power play for the entire 2nd half, scoring two more goals. David scored the goal double, and Remy Cabella made two assists.

In their last 10 head-to-head encounters, Marseille and Lille have won four games each. Last season, the Provençal side lost away to Lille 0-2, and then had a 1-1 draw at home. The latter encounter could have been more productive. Lille took the lead before cutting into the scoring chance, but Benjamin André's penalty put everything in jeopardy. Marseille seized on the initiative and deservedly restored the balance in the score.

• Marseille won 6 of the last 10 home games;
• Lille won 5 of the last 10 away games;
• Marseille kept a clean sheet in 3 of the last 10 games.

Lille have been very good on offense in recent rounds, and Remy Cabella's return to action has made the team even stronger. Marseille is also very active going forward, and they are bound to have scoring chances at home. Before the start of the season, both teams had big game problems. Now both sides have transformed, and it is difficult to give clear preference to one of them. In the last meeting, the audience could see more goals, so everything points to the fact that the game will be productive. I suggest the following betting options:

• Total Over (2.5) for 1.72;
• X for 3.68;
• Correct Score 2-2 for 12.0.

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