Marseille winger Florian Thauvin. (Photo : Getty Images)
Winless squads Olympique de Marseille (0-1-1, 1 point) and FC Lorient (0-2-0, 0 points) are set to face each other at the Stade Vélodrome on Friday, Aug. 26 as the 2016-2017 Ligue 1 season moves forward. The two teams aim to earn their first win this season against one another.
Marseille opened the season with a 0-0 draw versus Toulouse FC before dropping a disappointing 1-2 decision to fellow lowly team En Avant de Guingamp on the road at the Stade Municipal de Roudourou last Sunday to remain winless this term, via ESPN.
Guingamp forward Yannis Salibur opened the scoring right at the first minute of the match to give the hosts an early lead while defender Jeremy Sorbon doubled the lead at the 58th to take the game almost out of reach of the visitors.
Les Phocéens tried to mount a comeback late in the contest with winger Florian Thauvin drilling a left-footed shot from long range at the 78th minute from an assist by midfielder Maxime Lopez.
However, it was the closest head coach Franck Passi's men could return in the game as they were held scoreless for the rest of the match since then.
Meanwhile, Lorient is currently on a two-game losing slide to open the new season. They lost a high-scoring 2-3 game to Stade Malherbe Caen in their season-opener at the Stade Michel d'Ornano and then followed by a crushing 0-3 defeat in the hands of SC Bastia during their Week 2 match at their own home stadium of Stade du Moustoir last Saturday, as per SkySports.
Two players for head coach Sylvain Ripoll was sent off during the match against Bastia, namely starting midfielder Didier N'Dong and substitute striker Benjamin Jeannot at the 30th and 77th minutes respectively as they played with nine men late in the contest.
Midfielder Allan Saint-Maximin broke the deadlock at the 25th before forward Enzo Crivelli netted a brace at the 38th and 81st, completing the visitors' three-goal haul.
The predicted result is a 1-0 decision for Marseille.
Marseille starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Pele; Sakai, Hubocan, Doria, Rekik; Diaby, Diarra; Khaoui, Cabella, Sarr; Gomis
Lorient starting lineup (4-1-4-1 formation): Lecomte; Koffi, Bellugou, Rose, Le Goff; Cafu; Moukandjo, Mesloub, Marveaux, Philippoteaux; Waris
