Marseille backed to make winning start against reshaped Strasbourg

Mahamad Sangare, presenter of the sports debate programme La VAR on Burkina info TV, has tipped Marseille to begin the Ligue 1 season with victory over Strasbourg at the Velodrome.

The opening-day fixture takes place on Friday, 21 August 2026, with kick-off scheduled for 20:45. The recommended Marseille price is 1.78, with the home side expected to benefit from a new project under Bruno Genesio and home advantage in front of their supporters.

Marseille finished fifth in Ligue 1 last season and missed out on Champions League qualification. They will instead compete in the league phase of the Europa League, but the club’s ambition remains to return to Europe’s elite competition next season.

Genesio has taken charge following the departure of Habib Beye and is tasked with reviving a side that ended the 2025-26 campaign below expectations. Marseille’s pre-season produced three wins and two defeats. They lost 3-0 to OGC Nice before responding with victories over Nimes, Al-Shahaniya and Athletic Bilbao, winning those matches 2-1, 3-0 and 3-1 respectively.

Their final warm-up ended in disappointment, however, as Atletico de Madrid won 2-1 at the Velodrome. Igor Paixao gave Marseille the lead in that match, but the Ligue 1 club could not hold on. The result underlined the work still required from Genesio, despite the more encouraging performances earlier in pre-season.

Marseille’s preparations have also been affected by significant departures. Quinten Timber, a key midfielder, is suspended for the opening match. The club can no longer call on Greenwood, who scored 26 goals last season before joining Fenerbahce for about 40m euros.

Rulli has moved to Manchester City, Aubameyang has joined La Coruna after scoring 14 goals, Medina has left for Leverkusen and Traore has signed for Genoa after scoring three times. Pavard has returned to Inter Milan, Nwaneri to Arsenal and Vermeeren to Leipzig following their respective spells with Marseille.

Aguerd’s proposed transfer to Real Sociedad collapsed. The central defender did not feature during pre-season and remains doubtful for Friday’s game. In attack, Marseille will look to Paixao and Gouiri, who scored 12 and 11 goals respectively last season. Paixao was the standout performer during the summer, while Amine Gouiri failed to score.

With Marseille’s finances being monitored by the DNCG and UEFA, the club had completed no new signing less than a week before the fixture.

Strasbourg facing their own rebuild

Strasbourg finished eighth last season and will not play European football this term, despite reaching the semi-finals of the Conference League. The Racing club has also changed manager, with Hugo Oliveira replacing Gary O’Neil, who left to join Ipswich.

The Portuguese coach had been in charge of Famalicao for a year and a half, but his first pre-season at Strasbourg was difficult. The club lost six matches in succession before drawing 1-1 with Newcastle, a result that offered some encouragement ahead of the new campaign.

That run included heavy defeats by Sporting Portugal, who won 7-0, as well as losses to Blackburn, Brighton and Freiburg. The other results were 0-2 against Blackburn, 3-4 against Brighton and 0-2 against Freiburg.

Strasbourg may also be short of defensive options. Central defenders Doukoure and Hogsberg are unavailable, while Ben Chilwell was forced off early in the most recent match after suffering an injury. Oliveira may therefore have to alter his preferred defensive plan.

Panichelli, who scored 20 goals last season, is still recovering from a serious injury and remains another major doubt. Right-back Guela Doue and Martial Godo are expected to be available, with Godo having scored 16 goals during the previous campaign.

The Strasbourg squad has undergone extensive change during the summer. Several players moved to Chelsea, another club within the BlueCo consortium that owns the Racing. Goalkeeper Penders has returned from his loan spell, while Barco and Emegha have permanently left Alsace. Emegha scored eight goals last season.

Abdoul Ouattara, a versatile player, and Enciso, who contributed to 21 goals last term, have both moved to Ipswich. Moreira is also expected to leave for AC Milan after being involved in 14 goals.

Strasbourg have recruited to offset those losses. Goalkeeper Jorgensen has arrived on loan from Chelsea, while former Goteborg player Brantlind has been brought in to strengthen midfield. The club have also signed Reyna from Monchengladbach, Fabio Balde from Hamburg and Ortega, formerly of Real Madrid.

Those changes have created uncertainty over Strasbourg’s understanding and cohesion, particularly against a Marseille side beginning a new era at home.

The recent head-to-head record is evenly balanced. The teams have met four times in Ligue 1 over the past two years, with Marseille winning once, Strasbourg winning once and the other two matches ending in draws.

Sangare’s main selection is Marseille, with the Velodrome and Genesio’s new project considered important advantages. A more cautious approach is also suggested because both teams have recently shown open attacking profiles, while Strasbourg have gone through a long sequence of games in which they conceded at least once.

There is also interest in the goals market. A recent assessment puts the probability of at least three goals in the match at 60%.

Odds are subject to change.