Nuno Tavares and Olympique de Marseille will hope to build on their unbeaten start to the season when they face Nantes at the Orange Vélodrome on Saturday (kick-off 9pm CEST).
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After joining last season's Ligue 1 Uber Eats runners-up on loan from Arsenal this summer, Tavares became the first defender to score in each of his first two French top-flight appearances since Montpellier's Emir Spahic in 2009 when he found the net in the 1-1 draw at Brest on Sunday. That point came on the back of the 4-1 home win over Reims that opened Igor Tudor's reign as coach, and has given the new OM boss a solid if not entirely impressive start to the 2022/23 campaign.
WATCH: Nuno Tavares nets in draw at Brest
"It was a difficult game against a very good side," said Tudor after seeing Pierre Lees Melou's stunning second-half goal earn Brest a deserved point from the game in Brittany. "We created four or five dangerous situations in the first half, especially on the left. The problem is that we thought the match was over. And in Ligue 1, which is a good league, every match is difficult, especially away from home. The result is fair. We take a point and we have to keep working."
Tudor brought new signing Alexis Sanchez off the bench at half-time at the Stade Francis Le Blé, and though the former Arsenal and Manchester United man was largely ineffective, another week of training with his new teammates will enable him to get up to speed.
The Chile international is likely to start among the substitutes alongside Dimitri Payet — restricted to cameo roles in both league games so far — with Tudor keeping faith in his starting XI over the opening 180 minutes of the campaign.
"The played well, they gave their best. They did well coming off the bench, they tried things," said Tudor of the two veterans, and denied his team's second-half dip was due to his intense training sessions. "No, I don't think so. It's true that we looked less fresh in the second half. But we play next Saturday, and we're going to take the time to rest and recover and prepare ourselves well."
Pau Lopez could sit out again as the first-choice goalkeeper nurses a groin injury that means Ruben Blanco has been in between the posts for both league games so far. Issa Kaboré joined the OM squad on loan from Manchester City this week to make it a double-digit number of new recruits available to Tudor, whose side face a Nantes team that has won just once away from home in 2022 and triumphed in only two of their last 10 Ligue 1 Uber Eats matches.
They do head south unbeaten this season after drawing with both Angers and Lille, but they owe both points in large part to goalkeeper and captain Alban Lafont, who has been exceptional in both matches.
The Coupe de France winners will be without Moussa Sissoko for the next three weeks after the France international, a summer arrival from Watford, pulled a hamstring in training, and Antoine Kombouaré has made no secret of his desire to reinforce a squad that has barely been touched since last season while one of his most important players, Ludovic Blas, is strongly linked with a move.
WATCH: Lafont earns Nantes a point against Lille
"In the team, there are good elements and Ludo is one of the very good players we have. Now, not only can there be no one leaving, but we also need arrivals. That's the message I've been telling the board for some time," Kombouaré said in a surprisingly frank outburst on French TV following last Friday's 1-1 draw with Lille. "Of course I can wait, but I'm not going to wait for long. At least I'm clear about that."
When asked whether he could exploit the riches of Nantes' vaunted youth academy, Kombouaré replied: "Right now, we have to strengthen the team, we need players to help those on the pitch. I don't want to blood players now and put them in a difficult position. Youngsters come in when a team is winning.
Probable teams
Marseille: to follow
Nantes: to follow
