OM-Monaco preview: Clément’s men with lots to play for | OneFootball

AS Monaco still have lots to play for this season despite their painful defeat on penalties to FC Nantes in the Coupe de France semi-finals. The principality side face Olympique de Marseille at the Orange Vélodrome on Sunday evening.

Olympique de Marseille - AS Monaco Sunday at 20:45 CET (1945 GMT)

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Monaco missed out on a place in the final against OGC Nice at the Stade de France in May after losing 4-2 in the shootout in Nantes at the end of a pulsating 2-2 draw. Philippe Clément’s team had taken an early lead at the Stade de la Beaujoire through Guillermo Maripán only to find themselves trailing until substitute Myron Boadu’s goal restored parity in normal time. Wissam Ben Yedder, who has scored seven penalties for his club this season, had his kick saved and Aurélien Tchouaméni missed as Monaco went out.

It is a missed opportunity for the principality club, who have now lost six semi-finals since returning to Ligue 1 in 2013. Their three domestic Cup final defeats in that time all came against Paris Saint-Germain, including in last season’s Coupe de France. This time PSG’s early elimination left the competition wide open, but Monaco will have to wait to win their first silverware since their 2017 title triumph.

They are, however, still alive in the UEFA Europa League, and next Thursday they will be in Portugal to play Braga in the first leg of their last-16 tie. That competition still offers a potential path to a trophy this season, while in the league Monaco quickly need to get back to winning ways.

Highlights: Monaco go down at home to Reims

“We still have a lot of matches left to play and we are still involved in two competitions, which is not the case for every club. We still have ambitions this season and we want to make sure we give everything to try to turn things around, starting on Sunday in Marseille,” said Belgian coach Clément after the Nantes exit.

Monaco ended last weekend down in ninth place in the Ligue 1 Uber Eats table, five points adrift of the European qualifying spots for next season and nine behind the Champions League places. They are 10 points behind Marseille, so the importance of this encounter cannot be underestimated.

The decision to replace Niko Kovač with Clément, who came in from Club Brugge, has not yet brought the desired results. In seven league outings under the Belgian, Monaco have won just twice. Since defeating Olympique Lyonnais 2-0 on February 5, they have collected two points from three games. Draws against struggling duo FC Lorient and Girondins de Bordeaux were followed by a 2-1 home loss to Stade de Reims last weekend, when Monaco led 1-0 with six minutes left only for Kevin Volland to score an own goal before they conceded the decisive goal in stoppage time.

OM's home struggles

Meanwhile Marseille, who won 2-0 in Monaco back in September, have hardly been in inspired form themselves. Jorge Sampaoli’s team have taken just one point from a possible six in meetings with the division’s two newly-promoted clubs, following a 2-0 home loss to Clermont Foot 63 with a 1-1 draw at ESTAC Troyes last weekend. It looked like they would escape the Stade de l’Aube with all three points thanks to Dimitri Payet’s first-half penalty, only for Yoann Touzghar to score a last-minute equaliser.

Despite that setback, OM still finished last weekend in second place, four points ahead of Stade Rennais FC in fourth. Nevertheless, there has to be a danger they will slip out of a top-three berth if performances do not improve, not least at home where they have been beaten three times in the league this season.

Watch: Marseille held at lowly Troyes

“There is an obligation for the team to win at the Vélodrome and that sometimes creates a bit of disorder in the stadium. We maybe lose our heads a bit because of that obligation to win in front of our fans, who deserve it,” said Sampaoli last week.

“There is a weight. We want to respond to their support. Our final position in the standings will depend a lot on what happens at the Vélodrome. We need to try to be more patient at home. We are sometimes more clinical away from home, where our opponents are obliged to offer more going forward and that suits us better.”

This game also precedes a European tie for OM, who host Swiss club FC Basel in the first leg of their Europa Conference League last-16 tie on Thursday. Sampaoli must decide whether to start Arkadiusz Milik, who started as a substitute last week in Troyes, as he has often in recent games. Monaco have been without Benoît Badiashile and Aleksandr Golovin, while Krépin Diatta is out long term.

Probable teams

Marseille: Pau López; Lirola, Saliba, Caleta-Car, Luan Peres; Guendouzi, Kamara, Gerson; Payet (c); Bakambu, Milik

Monaco: Nübel; Sidibé, Disasi, Badiashile, Caio Henrique; Vanderson, Tchouaméni, Jean Lucas, Diop; Volland, Ben Yedder (c)

>> Coupe de France: Nantes topple Monaco!