Olympique Marseille vs AS Monaco Prediction: Expect a tight game with few opportunities

Olympique Marseille will resume their league campaign with a visit from AS Monaco at the Orange Velodrome. Marseille are ranked 7th on the Ligue 1 table and AS Monaco are 4th. Marseille are feeling anxious to get back to winning ways once again, after playing 2 draws in their last 2 league matches. However, they won’t be too disappointed in their form at the moment because they are unbeaten in their last 7 league games in a row and a win against AS Monaco would be the icing on the cake.

AS Monaco lost their last league game against Stade Reims on their own ground and they are coming back to the league to make a statement. Another defeat would be a huge disappointment for this side and they might lose their place to LOSC Lille, who are only 2 points behind them.

Olympique Marseille are holding all the cards coming into this game and it will be up to them to take the opportunity against an inconsistent AS Monaco side. They are currently on an unbeaten run since their last defeat against RC Lens back in November last year. But they failed to win in their last 2 games, as they played a draw against Montpellier and Strasbourg.

Marseille against Strasbourg was a tough game and both sides had fantastic chances to go ahead, but in the end they played to a 1-1 draw. Samuel Gigot opened the scoring for Marseille’s opening goal in the opening 3 minutes and the game remained that way until Strasbourg snatched a late equalizer through Jeremy Sebas in the 92nd minute of the match. At the end of the game, Marseille recorded 47% possession, 2 shots on target and 6 corner kicks.

According to the table, Marseille are ranked 7th with 28 points from 7 wins, 7 draws and 4 defeats in 18 matches and they have a goal difference of 7.

A trip to the Orange Velodrome can mean only one thing for AS Monaco and that is hard work. Both clubs have had quite an interesting encounter down the years on that ground, and AS Monaco were able to snatch 1 win in their last 5 visits to the Orange Velodrome. And on current form, AS Monaco are in need of some motivation after losing their 2nd game in their last 5 against Stade Reims, while playing at home. They won the other 3 games against Montpellier, Stade Rennes and Toulouse, but lost to Olympique Lyon and of course Stade Reims.

Monaco had a rocky start to the game against Stade Reims as Teddy Teuma opened the scoring for Stade Reims in the 35th minute and they went into the break with the defeat. Wissam Ben Yedder equalized in the 49th minute, before Reda Khadra gave the visitors the lead once again in the 55th minute. And in the 95th minute, Azor Matusiwa sealed the victory with the third goal for Stade Reims.

Presently, AS Monaco remain in 4th place on the league table, with 33 points from 10 wins, 3 draws and 5 defeats in 18 matches played and their goal difference is 9.

According to the head-to-head, both clubs have played 20 matches against each other in the past. AS Monaco won 10 matches, Olympique Marseille won 6 matches and they drew 4 matches.

In their last 10 meetings, both sides scored each other in 8 matches including the last meeting that ended in a 1-1 draw. And on the goal charts, Marseille have seen less than 2.5 goals in 4/5 matches, while AS Monaco have seen more than 2.5 goals in 5/6 matches.

It is reasonable to trust Marseille as they are the better team based on form and they have the advantage. But AS Monaco are not very far behind, so we expect a close game between these two teams.

• Marseille or Draw and Under 4.5 Goals at 1.68 Odds
• Marseille or Draw and Under 4.5 Goals at 1.68 Odds
• Draw in at least One Half at 1.60 Odds