Olympique de Marseille is playing its 2nd place in the Ligue 1 standings against OGC Nice, this Sunday at 8:45 p.m., at the Vélodrome stadium.
Jorge Sampaoli's men will also receive Lyon and Strasbourg at home before the end of the season, for the race for the Champions League.
But the Marseillais encounter a lot of difficulty at home, having already lost 22 points, while the Niçois are the best team away.
The battle for the Champions League will be played at the Vélodrome for Olympique de Marseille.
And the first leg takes place this Sunday (8:45 p.m.), with the reception of Nice, tied in the Ligue 1 standings with OM in terms of points, but just behind on goal difference.
A godsend to play these decisive matches at home, you might say, except that the Marseillais are having a hard time at Vel' this season.
“At home, we did not have good results.
While we are at home, we have our public who push us, in a very good atmosphere so it's sad to lose a lot of points there, ”admitted Mattéo Guendouzi, after the defeat against Monaco (0-1).
Twenty-two points lost
Since the start of the season, Jorge Sampaoli's men have already lost 22 points at the Stade Vélodrome, and are only 11th in the standings at home with a record of 5 wins, 5 draws and 4 losses in 14 games.
“It's very important to win games at home because it frees you up a bit and gives you a lot of confidence.
While a bad result away from home happens quickly, ”recalls Albert Emon, the former coach of OM.
And precisely, the Marseillais have never really known how to fill up with confidence at home.
Since the start of the season, they have only won two home victories once, against Saint-Etienne (3-1), then Rennes (2-0), at the end of August-beginning of September.
An eternity on the scale of a season.
When the opponents come to Marseille, they defend very well, are compact.
With counter possibilities, and when you fail to score, the flaw always happens, ”warns Albert Emon.
This is precisely what happened in the last home game against Monaco, and this defeat (0-1), when the Marseillais were largely dominant throughout the first period, a little less the second.
A performance that had angered part of the Vélodrome, in particular the Winners and the Dodgers, to cries of "Wet the shirt and break it off".
What Jorge Sampaoli had regretted, believing that this popular pressure was negative on his players.
But his men had just chained a second loss at home after that against Clermont (0-2).
Nice, best away team
Sunday, they will face the Nice, who slammed a scathing (4-1) in the Coupe de France in early February, and who are also the best team in the championship away.
“Do the Marseillais no longer have the right to make mistakes?
It's true that they receive Nice on Sunday and Lyon on May 1.
But I think we are very well placed to finish in the top three.
Sunday's match is not decisive, but very important.
A victory would give the team unlimited confidence for the end of the season.
But Nice will not only come to defend, it will be an open match, ”predicts the former OM coach.
A confidence already partly restored thanks to the qualification of the Olympians in the quarter-finals of the Europa League Conference and a victory in Brest (1-4) last Sunday.
The shock against Nice will be played in front of 63,000 Marseille spectators, but no Niçois.
Which could be a double-edged sword.
The Vélodrome will push like never before, but a goal quickly conceded could have the opposite effect.
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