Ligue 1 Predictions | Round 13: Marseille face Monaco in Mediterranean Derby | OneFootball

Ligue 1 Predictions, Round 13

GFFN editor-in-chief  Luke Entwistle and GFFN’s  Raphaël Jucobin face off in our Ligue 1 predictions competition. It’s three points for a correct score, two points for a correct score difference, and one point for a correct result. Who will come out on top at the end of the season?

SCORES

Raphaël: 72

Luke: 75

Game of the week: Olympique de Marseille v AS Monaco, Sunday 19:45 (UK)

The international break perhaps came at the right time for Marseille. Roberto De Zerbi had reached breaking point after the shock defeat to Auxerre and he, like his squad, needed to take a step back. Much work was done with the squad over the international break, and it showed against Lens, even if they did allow their opponent back into the encounter. The international break has also allowed Valentin Rongier to work his way back to full fitness after a very significant injury lay-off. Certainly not a flashy player, his absence was felt throughout last season, and at the start of this one. De Zerbi is pushing ahead with his plans for this side, trying to raise standards and improve cohesion, which he will be hoping to do this week during a special training camp away from Marseille. This is a side still fragile defensively, mostly due to the all-too-frequent individual errors, but going forward, there is room for more optimism.

However, Monaco will be a much different challenge to Lens last week. The latter, under Will Still, are short of confidence and struggle to create and finish chances due to their injury problems in key areas, but the same certainly does not apply to Monaco, who netted three against Brest last weekend. Adi Hütter’s side have the ability to create a variety of chances from a variety of scenarios, be it working the ball slowly from back to front, hitting in transition from a low-block or forcing turnovers high in the opposition’s box. Finishing those chances has maybe proved slightly harder with Breel Embolo already missing nine big chances this season in Ligue 1. That is the joint-highest amount in France’s top flight. There is a chance that Folarin Balogun could be fit to start this encounter and should he be, he could make a big difference on the night, in a game that could – and should – be settled by fine margins as second meets third.

Raphaël’s full predictions

Luke’s full predictions

GFFN | Luke Entwistle