The 17th-round the Ligue 1 match between Olympique Marseille and Nantes will take place on January 4 at the Velodrome stadium. Olympique Marseille vs Nantes: prediction, betting odds and statistics.
Olympique Marseille
Olympique Marseille played their last round at home, narrowly beating Monaco 1:0. The home side ended a short winless run (one draw and one defeat). Interestingly, this season the hosts have only had two such winless stretches. Also note that the club kept a clean sheet for the sixth time in the current Ligue 1 campaign. Roberto De Zerbi's squad sits third and trails leaders Lens by 5 points. We should also highlight the attack, which is the best in the championship — 36 goals scored.
- In the last 7 Ligue 1 matches the home side suffered just 1 defeat (4 wins and 2 draws).
- At least three goals were scored in 8 of Olympique Marseille's previous 11 league games.
- At home the club has a 12-match unbeaten run in the Ligue 1 (10 wins and 2 draws).
Potential Olympique Marseille Lineup (4-3-3)*
Gerónimo Rulli – Nayef Aguerd, Michael Murillo, Benjamin Pavard, Emerson – Geoffrey Kondogbia, Arthur Vermeeren, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – Timothy Weah, Mason Greenwood, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Due to injuries forwards Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Amin Guir, and midfielder Hamed Traoré will be unavailable. Defenders Nayef Aguerd and Chancel Mbemba are with their national teams.
Nantes
Nantes, coached by Luis Castro, remain in the relegation zone. The gap to the safe 15th place is already 4 points. The away side enter the new calendar year on a three-match losing streak, having lost at home to Lens 1:2, and away by large margins to Lyon 0:3 and Angers 1:4. It is worth noting that in this campaign the club has kept a clean sheet on only two occasions. The team has scored just 14 goals, which is one more than the league's worst attack, operated by Le Havre.
- The club's winless run in the Ligue 1 is 7 matches (2 draws and 5 defeats).
- Exactly two or three goals were scored in 5 of Nantes' previous 6 league games.
- The club has failed to win in 9 of the last 10 away Ligue 1 matches (4 draws and 5 defeats).
Potential Nantes Lineup (4-4-2)*
Anthony Lopes – Chidozie Awaziem, Kelvin Amian, Tiliel Tati, Fabien Centonze – Deiver Machado, Joann Lepenant, Junior Mwanga, Yassine Benhattab – Mostafa Mohamed, Matthis Abline.
Mostafa Mohamed and Chidozie Awaziem are at AFCON 2025.
Referee
Marc Bollenj?e (France)
Matches – 7 (the Ligue 1, 2025/26);
Yellow Cards Shown (Including Second Yellows) – 30;
Average Yellow Cards Per Match – 4.3;
Red Cards Shown – 2;
Fouls Per Match On Average – 26;
Penalties – 43%.
Olympique Marseille vs Nantes: Match Prediction
This meeting pits opponents from opposite ends of the table. The line offered by bookmakers clearly hints at a confident home victory, which is hard to disagree with. The difference in class and current form between the teams is too obvious. Nantes have managed just two wins in almost half of the season, victories achieved against Paris and Auxerre — opponents who are no higher than 14th place.
Only Olympique Marseille and PSG remain unbeaten at home in this Ligue 1. In 8 home matches the hosts have 6 wins and 2 draws. It is worth noting that the average goalscoring of Roberto De Zerbi's team at their stadium in the current campaign stands at 3 goals. We believe the hosts are capable of scoring at least three goals again against a Ligue 1 outsider or beating them by a comfortable margin. In addition, Nantes conceded as many as 7 goals in their last two away matches. On top of that, Olympique Marseille have beaten this opponent in all five previous head-to-head meetings held at the Velodrome.
Prediction: Olympique Marseille (-1.5)
* The starting lineup shown for each team is from its previous match in this competition.
