BORDEAUX – MARSEILLE (kick-off at 20:00 GMT on Friday)

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Bordeaux’ amazing home run against OM (21W, 15D) will come under threat as Les Girondins are without a host of players through coronavirus or injury, cancelling out OM missing Steve Mandanda, Alvaro Gonzalez, Valentin Rongier and Arkadiusz Milik. OM boss Jorge Sampaoli also has to contend with midfielder Pape Gueye and forward Bamba Dieng being on Africa Cup of Nations duty.

Sampaoli said: “It’s very difficult to plan things and to organise a starting eleven, as I’m forced to change it a lot. You have to be sure that the available players are ready to play if we call on them, without it weakening the team. Our squad is young and we’re short of players. It’s also an apprenticeship for them.”

Appointed as OM coach under a year ago, Sampaoli knows Friday’s match provides the southern club with the opportunity to climb above Nice and into second place in the table. The Argentinian is well aware of OM’s miserable record at Bordeaux and would love to be the coach that ends that winless sequence.

Sampaoli: "I'm enthusiastic"

Sampaoli, whose side have won their last three away matches, commented: “It’s an important match and there’s supplementary motivation to end the run at a stadium where it has traditionally been very difficult for OM. I’m enthusiastic. As a coach I am paid, and well paid, in order to resolve this type of problem.”

OM’s attacking midfielder Amine Harit has made only four league starts since joining on loan from Schalke. The Moroccan international said: “It’s obvious that I would like to be used more. I’ve been used in a position I’m not used to playing, on the right. My best position is centrally, where I have greater freedom. I need to adapt to what the coach demands of me.”

Petkovic: "I'm not making any calculations"

Bordeaux’s depleted squad fell 3-0 at Brest on Sunday in the Round of 32 of the Coupe de France and former Switzerland coach Petkovic is contending with a very difficult situation. He said: “I’m not making any calculations. Some aren’t hit by the virus but are diminished by something else. I need to have 20 players available. If someone can give it their all for 80 minutes, then we’ll bring on the others after in order to complement them. All we can do is try our best, fight and win. I’ve told all the players we need to be at 100%, even if it’s not a habitual 100% because of the circumstances.”

Petkovic has won only three of his 19 matches since being appointed as Bordeaux coach following UEFA EURO 2020 and his side head into Round 20 17^th in the table, only a point above 19^th-placed Lorient.

Probable Teams:

Bordeaux: Poussin; Pembélé, Kwateng, Gregersen, Louis-Jean ; Lacoux, Sissokho, Dilrosun, Hwang ; Elis, Oudin

Marseille: Lopez ; Luan Peres, Caleta-Car, Saliba ; Lirola, Kamara, Guendouzi, Payet ; Ünder, Harit, Luis Henrique