In one of three all Ligue 1 ties in the Coupe de France round of 32, Marseille host Lille at Stade Velodrome on Tuesday eager to maintain their unblemished record in the new year.
On the other hand, their opponents have struggled to score a draw each in the top tier and just scraped through a round of 64 against third division side, Rouen, showing the sort of poor form they displayed before coming up against Roberto de Zerbi’s side.
However, prior to the all Ligue1 clash against Lille , the Mastiffs have been on a negative run of four consecutive games against De Zerbi’s loaded attacking outfit, which would see the hosts confident of ending the jinx this time.
Following the ease past other top- flight rivals Saint Etienne 4-0 to complete the years’ fixture, the Olympians thrashed fifth placed Le Havre 5-1 and clinched a dramatic 2-1 away win over Rennes on January 11.
That win means De Zerbi’s troops are unbeaten in all competitions since November 8 when they were beaten 3-1 at home by Auxerre in Ligue 1; in fact, since then they have six wins out of seven; but one of the draws was against Tuesday’s opponents in mid December when Bafode Diakite equalised for Rennes in the 87th minute after Quentin Merlin had given Nice the lead
It was the leveller that denied the Marseille their first victory over Lille since September the previous year but the hosts have another crack a month after that disappointing league stalemate.
Given that the home side had been knocked out of the previous two Coupe de France campaigns through penalties, the fans would understandably wish the midweek match could finish in the 90 minutes against a team that has been a struggling opponent for the likes of Rennes.
Regarding Cup victories, six times champions Lille cannot be compared to 10 time champions Marseille, Though Lille last trophy was in 2011 which is a more recent achievement than the Olympians last Cup in 1989.
After losing 2-0 to Sporting Lisbon on September 17, Bruno Genesio's team has gone 19 games without a loss going into Tuesday's round of 32 meeting. Despite this, the Mastiffs have only won 10 of those games, or 52.6% of the total.
The only team in Ligue 1 with fewer losses than Les Dogues is the undefeated Paris Saint-Germain, but the fifth-place team's eight draws in 17 rounds are still unrivaled.
With Lyon and Lens catching up, Genesio's team has dropped to fifth place in the top division after the Northmen have drawn three straight games, most recently against mid-table Auxerre.
Even though Lille's careless finishing gave the lowly hosts a chance to tie the score, they needed Ismaily's first-half goal to save themselves from the humiliation of an early elimination in the Coupe de France.
Even if they had a strong run against the Olympians, the six-time winners, who are aiming for a third straight domestic cup last-16 berth, will face a different opponent in Marseille.
Mason Greenwood highlighted the forward's decisive execution and significance for the home team by scoring the equalizer against Rennes and setting up Adrien Rabiot's game-winning effort in the comeback victory.
Jonathan David, an 11-goal Ligue 1 forward, has not scored in his last five games across all competitions for Les Dogues, despite setting up the game-winning assist against Rouen in the previous round. He hopes to end this streak at the Velodrome.
