Marseille host Metz at the Stade Velodrome on Friday evening with little margin for error in a crowded race for Europe. Habib Beye's team sit fourth in Ligue 1, one point behind third place, but they arrive on the back of two straight defeats and cannot afford another slip if they want to protect their place in the upper reaches of the table.
Marseille lost 2-1 at home to Lille before falling 2-1 at Monaco, a run that has left them one point above Lyon in sixth and two clear of Rennes in seventh. Beye, who replaced Roberto De Zerbi in mid-February, has won only enough to keep Marseille in the hunt, but the numbers show the job is not settled: his side have suffered three defeats in six league matches under his watch. Mason Greenwood is expected to return after a short layoff and a suspension for accumulated bookings, while CJ Egan Riley was forced off against Monaco with a thigh injury, Nayef Aguerd is recovering from groin surgery and Geoffrey Kondogbia is set to miss a second straight match with a thigh issue.
That leaves Marseille with a chance to respond against the division's bottom side. Metz are 12 points adrift of safety, eight points behind the relegation playoff spot with six matches remaining, and have suffered 19 league defeats, the most in the division. They drew 0-0 with Rennes and 0-0 with Nantes in their last two matches, but that only extended a winless run to 16 Ligue 1 matches, and they have drawn a blank in seven of their last nine top-flight games. Their away form offers little encouragement either, with just one win in 14 Ligue 1 games and 60 league goals conceded overall.
The meeting also fits Marseille's recent run against a side they have handled well. They beat Metz 3-0 in the reverse fixture in October and are winless in their last 10 meetings with the club, a streak that underlines how one-sided this fixture has been. Metz have at least shown some resistance in their last two outings, but Marseille's need is sharper: after consecutive league defeats, they need three points to keep control of a top-four push that remains close enough to reward, and fragile enough to punish another off night.
