It is on paper the most affordable match of the season: an OM in the midst of a fight for 2nd place receives four days from the end a team from Angers already relegated to Ligue 2 and who were walked on by most other teams this season in Ligue 1.
Before thinking about the goal-average…
In a Vélodrome stadium still and always full to bursting, the Olympians must logically unfold against the Gruyère defense of the SCO, which leads some to project a river score to heal the goal average in view of the end of the season. (Lens is at +32, OM at +28). “Yes it could be decided on goal difference, I spoke to the players about it” blew Igor Tudor Friday to the press.
But there is no longer any calculation to be made, given the Lensoise dynamic (8 wins in the last 9 games), OM know that they must win their last four meetings, full stop. The Olympians cannot approach this match against Angers with excess confidence either, given their poor performance this season at the Vélodrome: the defeat against Ajaccio, the elimination against Annecy, the draw against Strasbourg… We do not say that we would sign for a 1-0 on Sunday evening, but almost, especially if Monaco does not win against Lille before.
What attacking trio to be effective?
Still, to hurt this Angers team, OM will have to put themselves in offensive mode at all costs, as Tudor’s men had done well against Troyes (3-1) there less than a month. We can then imagine that the Croatian coach intends to align the trio in attack Sanchez-Vitinha-Underbut he responded tit for tat at a press conference, smiling: “Sunday it won’t be like that, so there’s nothing to comment on!”.
Which of the three will therefore not start? Is it Sanchez who is not quite recovered from his injury? A priori no, because the Chilean is available and “irreplaceable” as Tudor hammered home. Is it vitinha who is not yet reliable enough in front of goal? Possible, the Portuguese harvested against Auxerre and was discreet in Lens. Or is it Under who could blow? Less likely, the Turk seems indispensable in Tudor’s eyes.
In any case, this leaves a real place to take and it could be played out between Dimitri Payet, Matteo Guendouzi et Ruslan Malinovskyi. The Ukrainian was again defended by his coach despite another disappointing performance at Lens, but he will inevitably have the pressure to do well if he starts as a starter against Angers. Conversely, Guendouzi and especially Payet have been confident since their two good entries against Auxerre and Lens. For what should be his last game of the season, Payet will perhaps have a golden opportunity to shine from the start. Considering the current motivation of the Olympian captain, it would be rather a good idea on Tudor’s part. Unless the Croatian counts on him once again and Guendouzi during the match if the score remains tight.
Whether on the field or on the bench, Tudor and his players will above all have to be efficient, without asking too many questions. This is what the Vélodrome expects of them.
#OMAngers #calculation
