OM-Lille at the head of the gondola, Embolo and Monaco expected
The poster: Marseille-Lille, jerseys for sale?
Tantalizing Ligue 1 poster on Saturday (9 p.m.) at the Vélodrome stadium, the duel between Marseille, tied for 2nd with Paris SG (16 pts), and Lille (6th, 10 pts) promises a show and great exposure for all the partner brands. of both clubs.
Problem: the main shirt sponsor of OM and Losc, the British online car seller Cazoo, announced Thursday that it wants to stop its operations in the European Union, a decision which will lead to the end of its sports partnerships. While the company promises to “end these relations in an orderly manner”, the two clubs are waiting, with the fear of losing an important source of income and of having to convince, urgently, another major sponsor of display his mark on their tunics.
This is an additional reason to wet the jersey on Saturday at the Vélodrome in this duel between Lille, champion of France 2021, and Marseille, vice-champion 2022 and author of an excellent start to the season, despite a frustrating inaugural defeat on Wednesday to Tottenham in the Champions League (2-0). “I am of course satisfied with our start to the championship, we have taken a lot of points”, commented last weekend the Marseille coach Igor Tudor, jeered at his debut but who is starting to “harvest the fruit of all the work carried out “. “It’s a very positive start to the season,” he summed up, while OM hope to follow the hellish pace of PSG, which hosts Brest on Saturday (5:00 p.m.) for as long as possible.
Beware of the Lille, carried by their center forward Jonathan David and by the precepts of ambitious play of coach Paulo Fonseca: the “Dogues” seem better outside at the start of the season with 7 points out of 9 taken away from the Pierre-Mauroy stadium, against two defeats in three home games…
The player: Embolo, Monaco’s asset
Breel Embolo already essential in Monaco! Arrived this summer, the center-forward has just scored two decisive goals to allow ASM to launch its season, first during the derby in Nice (1-0) in L1, then Thursday in the Europa League against ‘Red Star in Belgrade (1-0). “More than my goal, the most important thing is that the team wins, commented Embolo on Thursday evening at the microphone of RMC Sport. For me, it’s not bad. The team has integrated me well but I can still improve. »
The Swiss international, in his powerful and explosive style, is a useful alternative to captain Wissam Ben Yedder, who is in more difficulty at the start of the season and is in a mood after being substituted against Nice. It remains to be confirmed on Sunday (8:45 p.m.) for the reception of Lyon, which had announced its season well before stalling Wednesday at Lorient (3-1) in a late match. OL (4th, 13 pts), intractable at home (4 wins in 4 matches), are still awaiting their first victory away from their bases this season. Maybe at the Louis-II stadium?
The number: 3 teams without a win
After six days, three clubs are still waiting for their very first success and time is starting to run out for Strasbourg (18th), Angers (19th) and Ajaccio (20th). Surge hoped for on Sunday for the Alsatian team which receives the astonishing team from Clermont (1:00 p.m.) after a start to the season weighed down by absences.
The point obtained in Brest (1-1) last weekend nevertheless hinted at some promise of “better days” for the Strasbourg residents, according to their coach Julien Stéphan, deprived of a bench this weekend after being excluded in Brittany.
Same urgency for Angers, whose coach Gérald Baticle will have to find solutions against Montpellier (3:00 p.m.), and especially for the promoted Ajaccio, which is struggling to rise to the level of L1: the reception of a Nice team again recovering on Sunday (3:00 p.m.) is already a cutthroat match for the Corsicans.