Marseille back against newly promoted Angers after 'deserved' defeat.

After a ‘deserved’ defeat to Strasbourg last time out, OM are back against newly promoted Angers, hoping to return to winning ways. Olympique Marseille vs. SCO Angers kicks off at 19:45 [GMT+1] on Friday, October 4, at Stade Vélodrome.

Olympique Marseille are coming off the back of a 1-0 loss to Strasbourg [DWWWL], a loss that brought an end to OM’s three-game winning run. 'We played a lot of man against man, one versus one; we lost 80% of these duels, so we deserved to lose the match.' Italian manager Roberto De Zerbi said. 'We lost too many duels, even aerial duels. It’s a deserved defeat,’ he added after his side lost more ground to the top two. In 3rd place with 13 points in total, Marseille trail 2nd place Monaco by 3 points. All hands will be on deck as Marseille looks to bounce back to winning ways this Friday in a bid to remain within touching distance of the top two. Newcomers Angers are next in line for Marseille before a trip to Montpellier after the international break. While the Olympians have won only one [1W, 2D, 1L] of their four games against newly promoted sides such as Friday’s visitors, Marseille could pick up four wins in a row over Angers for the first time in club history. The home side have won their last three games against Angers in all competitions. In addition, Marseille would be riding on an impeccable home record, having lost only once at home in the current calendar year [5W, 5D, 1L]. A 4—2—3—1 with Elye Wahi in attack may be seen from De Zerbi.

Just like Friday’s opponents, Angers are also coming off the back of defeat. The visitors lost 3-1 to Reims in front of their own crowd after a late goal from Zinedine Ferhat [84’] failed to inspire any form of a comeback. Having earned only 2 points, the newcomers are seated at the bottom of the Ligue 1 table, two points shy of the relegation playoff spot. At the opposing end of the table, when compared to Marseille, Angers will be looking to lift themselves out of the bottom two at the end of Friday’s fixture. However, with settling to life in the top flight more difficult than expected, Angers could fail to win their first seven games of a season in the top flight for the first time since 1965/66. A 4—2—3—1 with Esteban Lepaul in attack is expected. As many as five, including Bamba Dieng, are ruled out of this weekend’s clash.