Marseille vs Metz prediction 09.02.2024

• Competition: Ligue 1
• Date: Friday, 9th February 2024
• Kickoff: 20:00 UK / 21:00 CET
• Venue: Stade Vélodrome (Marseille)

In recent years, Marseille has been one of the top French teams, consistently securing their place in Europe. However, this season, Les Phocéens are underperforming, currently only at 8th place with 29 points, three points shy of the European spots but a substantial 18 points behind the first-placed PSG. Their poor performance this season can be attributed to their terrible road record. Recently, Rennes eliminated them from the Cup, meaning they can no longer secure their spot in Europe through that avenue. As such, it’s crucial for them to secure wins against lower-ranking teams to inch closer to the European spots. Despite their domestic struggles, Marseille has performed well in Europe, finishing second in the Europa League Group B and advancing to the 1/16 finals against Shakhtar Donetsk.

Over the past few years, Metz has frequently bounced between Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Last season, they secured their place in Ligue 1 by finishing second in Ligue 2. However, this season they seem to be potential candidates for relegation. Although they began the season on a high note, their performance has been dismal since the beginning of December, suffering eight consecutive losses in all competitions. Currently, the Maroons are in 16th place with 16 points but are just three points shy of the safe zone. Despite this, they presently seem to be the weakest team in Ligue 1.

Marseille vs Metz pick: Under 2.5 goals

Marseille’s performance has been subpar, with only one victory in their last six matches. Their lone triumph was in the Cup against Thionville, a team from a lower-tier. However, their performance was far from impressive, managing a slim 1:0 victory. Les Phocéen’s attacking prowess has been dismal lately, notching up a mere six goals in the same number of games. Consequently, they only surpassed 2.5 goals once during this period.

Metz’s performance has been utterly dismal, having suffered eight consecutive losses, one of which was due to penalties in the Cup. In five of these matches, they didn’t even manage to score. Their next challenge is the top defensive home team in Ligue 1, Marseille, which conceded a mere five goals in ten home matches. Moreover, with a tally of only 17 goals in 20 rounds, Metz is the second-worst attacking team in the league, outperforming only the bottom-ranked Clermont. Therefore, it seems unlikely that they will score in this upcoming match.

Taking into account the poor goal-scoring form of both teams and all the above factors, we think that betting on under 2.5 goals is the safest option for this Ligue 1 match.