In seasons past the previous M.O. of Marseille has been one step forward, two or even three steps back meaning that the club has not mounted a meaningful title challenge in years. Indeed, the last time that Marseille won Ligue 1 was in 2010. Since then, Lille, Monaco, and even Montpellier have all been crowned champions, as well as PSG. 

Although it is very early days in the Ligue 1 campaign with just seven games gone from 34 in total, everything feels a little different with Marseille. When PSG were defeated in Le Classique, Marseille kept up that momentum by beating the current third place team, Strasbourg and then Metz.  

What has ended up being a four-match winning streak in Ligue 1 sees Marseille going into the weekend in 2nd place, just one point and one place behind PSG. If third-place Strasbourg can hold or defeat PSG on Friday, then Marseille could make a move to the top of the standings. 

Should PSG prevail, then at least Marseille can keep up the pressure on their rivals for another week. It’s the kind of pressure that Marseille coach, Roberto de Zerbi,  wants his players to feel throughout the season. "We’re all capable of talking the talk, but we need to walk the walk."

On paper that task is more than doable with Marseille at home to Le Havre in Saturday’s game. Like Metz last time out in Ligue 1, Le Havre are a struggling side with just the single win from 7 this season, and three draws in a row from the previous matches. 

Saturday October 18th - 3PM ET: Marseille vs. Le Havre LIVE on beIN SPORTS