Marseille vs Lille Prediction & Betting Tips (16 January)

An Olympique Marseille who is racing shoulder to shoulder with Nice for second place in Ligue 1 faces former French champions Lille on the 21st day of the transalpine top division. The OM of the Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli is going through a very positive period, he is back from 6 useful results, 5 wins and 1 draw in a row and in the last round of the championship he overtook Bordeaux away with a goal from the Roman player on loan Cengiz Under. As mentioned, Lille in the 2020/2021 season boasted the title of champion of France while today they sail in waters that are all in all still at the center of the standings with their 28 points but just 3 lengths from second place.

In a championship conditioned by Covid, Lille have not played in Ligue since 22 December when they won 3-2 against Bordeaux, while in the new year they only played in the French Cup, losing on penalties against Lens.

OM face the French champion without their Senegalese players Dieng and Gueye, present at the CAN with the Lions of Teranga. There could be more absentees for the Phocaeans if Alvaro, Gerson and Milik (9 goals) do not recover from covid-19, which is why they missed the last trip to Bordeaux. Alvaro Gonzalez should not be there anyway, he who is no longer part of the plans of his compatriot Sampaoli. Victims of a physical glitch, Mandanda and Rongier were not in Gironde either. Sampaoli will also have to make a decision regarding them. The essential Payet (8 goals) and Ünder (7 goals), the only scorer against the Navy and White, will a priori be present, as will Saliba who was finally negative for covid after a first positive test. None absent due to the CAN for the LOSC.

A first good news for the Mastiffs who could recover several elements tested positive for covid-19 at the very beginning of the year, namely their spearhead David (16 goals including 12 in L1, top scorer in the championship), their executive midfielders André and Xeka, and the less used Lihadji and Bradaric. Lille can also record the injury returns of Celik, Weah and Jardim. Yilmaz (6 goals), who tested positive for the virus after his aforementioned teammates, is uncertain. The transfer window also changes Jocelyn Gourvennec's plans. Ikoné left Lille for Fiorentina and Yazici is in the process of signing for CSKA Moscow.