Marseille vs Reims prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2023-08-11 15:00.
It’s been a busy summer for Marseille who moved on quickly from the decision of former manager Igor Tudor to step down from his role at the end of last season. They hired ex-Athletic Club head coach Marcelino as his replacement, tasking him with improving on last season’s third-place finish. Boosted with reinforcements such as Iliman Ndiaye, Ismaïla Sarr, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Renan Lodi to name just a few, there’s no reason why that objective can’t be achieved.
In eerie circumstances, this fixture against Reims is a repeat of how both sides started the 2022/23 Ligue 1 season. Marseille won that encounter comfortably 4-1, ending a run of four home H2Hs without a victory (D3, L1). Their dominance has grown in the fixture more recently, highlighted by the fact that another win here would see them secure four straight league wins against Reims for the first time in their history.
Reims made a lot of headlines last season, predominantly down to head coach Will Still whose swift rise to elite European coaching is well documented. Following his arrival in October, he led Reims on a remarkable run of 17 Ligue 1 matches without a defeat, before none other than Marseille put his side to the sword with a 2-1 win in March.
They picked up just eight points from their remaining ten league fixtures after that, so Still might be out to seek both revenge and stability. His side certainly come into the encounter with positive momentum after five wins from their final five pre-season matches and that may be exactly what the Red And Whites need when chasing their first opening day victory from their last four attempts (D2, L1).
Key battle: Marseille’s Luis Suárez stole the show with a brace from the bench in the H2H meeting here last season, and with two goals in his last two pre-season matches, Reims might be worried he’ll do it again. The visitors might be looking to new defender Joseph Okumu to keep him quiet. The 26-year-old played 30 league games for Gent last season and was Reims’ most expensive summer signing at more than £10 million.
Hot stat: Just two of Marseille’s last eight opening round Ligue 1 matches saw both teams score on the day.