Havana, March 1 (RHC) – Today, the 42nd edition of the classic between Olympique de Marseille and Lyon will close the 24th round of French football, a duel focused on third position, the last one that guarantees a direct ticket to the Champions League.
Lyon will arrive at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille sitting atop the Ligue 1 table with 45 points, trailing only favorites PSG (57) and the surprising Lens (53). The home side, Marseille, will be in fourth place with 40 points, the same as fifth-placed Rennes.
Les Gones will have the opportunity tonight to pull away in the battle for third place, something Marseille will try to prevent at all costs. A home win would put them within striking distance of one of their historic rivals.
Lyon will be at a disadvantage on paper, as Paulo Fonseca’s men will be missing key players for the match, particularly in attack with the absence of Czech striker Pavel Sulc, who has scored 10 goals in the tournament, and Portuguese forward Afonso Moreira. They will also be disappointed by the last-minute omission of defender Ruben Kluivert from the squad.
Last week, Lyon’s 13-game winning streak across all competitions came to an end with a 1-3 defeat to Strasbourg.
Meanwhile, Marseille will have their full squad available at a time of crisis and costly defeats, which led to Roberto De Zerbi’s departure from the bench, replaced by Habib Beye.
Historically, the balance in derbies between the two Olympique teams favors Lyon, with 17 wins, 13 draws, and 11 losses.
Also today, in the continuation of Matchday 24 of Ligue 1, out of a total of 34, Lille (37 points) will host the struggling Nantes (17 points) aiming for a victory to keep them in the hunt for European qualification, while bottom-placed Metz (13 points) will try to begin a climb out of the relegation zone when they host Brest (30 points).
The day will be completed by the matches Lorient (32)-Auxerre (17) and Paris FC (23)-Nice (24), with the former being the home team.
