Bordeaux v Marseille

One of football’s most remarkable records comes under threat on Friday, when Bordeaux protect an undefeated home record in the league against Marseille that stretches back to 1977.

The home side have been ravaged by Covid in the build up to this match, to such an extent that they were forced to field a virtual reserve side in a 3-0 cup loss against Brest last weekend. Nevertheless, the reserves won plaudits for their performance.

In the league, though, things have been a slog for Bordeaux. Their attacking promise, most notably led by Alberth Elis, has been undermined by a dreadful defence and the net result has been just three victories in the first half of the season. They have been nothing if not entertaining, though. Their fixtures have provided a grand total of 73 goals already.

Marseille, meanwhile, were the great entertainers at the start of the season but have become dour and methodical in recent weeks. Only one of their last eight Ligue 1 matches has produced more than two goals while five have finished with a single goal or less. OM go into this match with a far stronger squad than their rivals, although reports are filtering through at the time of writing that they have returned several positive Covid tests.

Over 45 years, Marseille have somehow found a way to fail to win this fixture even once, yet the odds appear stacked in their favour this time around – if the match even goes ahead. There will be no crowd and they will face an opponent struggling to overcome illness. This should finally be the occasion they end their remarkable jinx.

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Lens v Rennes

For much of the first half of the season, Lens were one of Ligue 1’s standout teams, playing some wonderful football as they climbed as high as second in the league. However, they ran out of steam before Christmas and ended on a six-match winless streak.

The spirit in the Lens side, though, was evident as they rallied from 2-0 down against neighbours Lille in midweek to secure a 2-2 draw in the Coupe de France. They subsequently won after a penalty shootout. Indeed, their last seven matches against Ligue 1 opponents have produced at least three goals, with the exception of a 1-1 draw against PSG. At home, Franck Haise’s side tend to be tough to beat: they have lost only one of 10 matches at Stade Bollaert so far this season.

Rennes, though, have a good history in France’s far north east. The Bretons are undefeated in six visits to Lens, dating back to a 5-2 loss in 2005, although five draws in that period illustrates how tight these fixtures have typically been. There are two significant headaches facing visiting boss Bruno Genesio before this game: international call ups and Covid.

The backbone of his defence is at the Africa Cup of Nations, with goalkeeper Alfred Gomis and Nayef Aguerd on international duty, while six players have been ill, including centre-back Warmed Omari. With Benjamin Bourigeaud and Martin Terrier, two key forward players, also ailing, Rennes could travel with a severely depleted squad. 

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