Marseille will host bottom-of-the-table Angers at the Stade Velodrome on Friday in an attempt to recover from a humiliating road loss last weekend.
Marseille may top the table with a significant victory over opponents they have recently relished smashing in Ligue 1's opening match.
After one of the most remarkable matches you will see in Europe this season in overcoming Lyon 3-2 the week previous, Marseille were dragged crashing back down to earth on Sunday.
Strasbourg lost 1-0 in Alsace, even though Roberto De Zerbi's team defeated their adversaries after playing with 10 men for 85 minutes.
After taking 13 of a possible 15 points, OM had been undefeated in their previous 15 games. As a result, they are now tied for first place with Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain.
Though those two teams prevailed over the weekend, Marseille is still in the top three going into this matchday and should have enough strength to temporarily tie the score.
De Zerbi declared following the victory against Lyon that it is "not serious" to consider winning a championship in his debut season, despite the fact that both PSG and Monaco have invested years in developing their squads.
Though they drew blanks for the first time under De Zerbi in Sunday's loss, Marseille have found their feet under the Italian coach. Their 15 goals in their first five games were their highest total in 70 years.
A seven-goal margin of victory would be needed for Marseille to end Friday night top of the tree, but they have won the last three meetings with Angers, scoring 11 goals in the process, and the struggling club look unlikely the become just the second visiting team to win at the Velodrome in 2024, after PSG.
Angers, who were relegated in 2022–23, don't seem to have improved much as they immediately returned from Ligue 2.
Le SCO finished that season with just 18 points from 38 games, and they are headed for a similar total this time around after taking just two points from their first six games.
Angers started the season poorly, losing 3-1 at home to Reims on a comfortable afternoon. After losing their first three games, they rebounded with a pair of 1-1 draws against Strasbourg and Nantes.
Angers, who are heavy favorites to be relegated once more, rewarded manager Alexandre Dujeux with a new contract this week that will keep him with the team until 2026. Everyone seems to be thinking back on his accomplishments from the previous season and believes he is the best man to possibly lead the team back up if their anticipated drop to Ligue 2 does happen.
