Held in defeat at home on Friday evening by Strasbourg (1-1, 18th day of Ligue 1), Marseille will have to do without Samuel Gigot during their match on January 27 against Monaco.
Things are going to get very serious for Olympique de Marseille at the start of 2024. At least judging by the turn events are taking, linked to various elements. First there is the African Cup of Nations which poses serious staffing problems for Gennaro Gattuso. The Marseille coach must therefore do without the services of important players, such as Chancel Mbemba, Amine Harit. Other African players also left to compete in the competition: Ismaila Sarr, Iliman Ndiaye and Pape Gueye and Azzedine Ounahi. But the troubles don’t stop there for OM.
While the championship resumed on Friday evening for the southern club, the draw conceded at the Vélodrome against Racing Club de Strasbourg (1-1, 18th day) saw Samuel Gigot receive a yellow card. Pillar of the Marseille defense, the latter has accumulated too many biscuits and will in fact be automatically suspended for the next championship match scheduled for January 27 against AS Monaco. One more headache for Gennaro Gattuso who will therefore have to do without Mbemba and Gigot in this meeting which is already more than complicated on paper.
New defensive device
The list of absentees was already monstrous for OM, with practically eleven players unavailable for various reasons, it will therefore be extended with this suspension of Samuel Gigot. To compensate for all his absences in defense, there will only be Leonardo Balerdi and Abdoul Meïté among the “usuals”, enough to certainly push Gattuso to review his tactical system. Perhaps he will take advantage of the 16th final of the Coupe de France scheduled for January 21 against Stade Rennais to change that.
