Lyon host Marseille in the first Derby des Olympiques of the season in Ligue 1 on Sunday night.

Match preview

Initially a derby that had no bad blood attached to it, this is a fixture that has turned ugly in recent years, and no Marseille away fans will be present due to incidents that have occurred in recent years.

Marseille's Dimitri Payet and former Lyon boss Fabio Grosso have both been struck with objects in fixtures over the past two years leading to postponements and the game being played behind closed doors.

That means there will be no Marseille fans here to see whether their side can make it back-to-back wins at the Groupama Stadium, after ending a 17-game winless streak in Lyon last season.

Malo Gusto's comical late own goal gifted OM a late 2-1 win in a city where they had endured a torrid run, but they will come into this as clear favourites despite their historically bad record.

Their status as favourites is largely down to the fact they have started the season four games unbeaten for the fourth year in a row, after a 2-0 win over Nice last weekend.

De Zerbi's side sit in second only behind a Paris Saint-Germain side who have made a 100% start, but who will have European distractions throughout the season, unlike Marseille.

As is the case with De Zerbi's teams, the mantra has been based on an attack-first mentality, and that has seen Marseille score 12 goals in their first four games of the season.

The goal will not just be to finish in the top three, but to challenge PSG for the title and bring major silverware back to Marseille for the first time in 15 years, and if they can keep up their current form, that will make Le Classique a very intriguing encounter on October 27.

There are no such ambitions for Lyon this season, whose campaign has not started in desired fashion, losing their first two games to Monaco and Rennes.

A 4-3 win over Strasbourg and a hard-fought goalless draw with Lens were both positives though and at least gives the side some confidence and points on the board heading into the one of the biggest games of the season.

Slow starts are often followed by encouraging spurts of form too, as Lyon have ended up qualifying for Europe on the previous four occasions where they have taken four points or fewer in their opening four games - including last season when they ended up in sixth.

Despite the shutout against Lens last time out though, leaking goals is a huge concern for manager Pierre Sage, as Lyon have conceded 15 in their last seven league games here at the Groupama Stadium, and Marseille under De Zerbi are certainly a side who are capable of punishing them for that.

Player injuries:

Lyon

3 (Left back) Tagliafico

37 (right winger) Ernest Nuama

Marseille

36 (Goalkeeper) Ruben Blanco

13 (Central Defender) Cornelius

14 (Center) Faris Mumbane

5 (Central Defender) Baledi

34 (Central Midfielder) Bilal

possible starting lineup: