Kirill Marchenko looks like a superstar in the making, posting 74 points in his age-24 season last year. Dmitri Voronkov isn't far behind him with 23 goals and 24 assists in his sophomore campaign. And Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson are even younger. The East feels so crowded that it's hard to say if last year's ninth-place finisher is going to muscle its way into the playoffs, but it's easy to talk yourself into the idea that Columbus is on the upswing.
Starting with the hosts, while Cordoba might have claimed an essential boost earlier in the month as they snatched a 2-1 victory against Castellon, Ivan Ania's men came immediately crashing back down to earth in a worrying fashion last time out. Eventually falling to what was a routine 3-1 drumming away at Andorra, the Caliphs open this weekend's fixtures holding just a one-point buffer from slipping into the drop zone.
Last seen heading into September's international break with a 1-0 loss at the hands of historic rivals Lyon, there has been some speculation that Roberto De Zerbi could face some mounting pressure on his position. Losing two of their first three Ligue 1 showdowns, the former Brighton boss is demanding an immediate response on Friday night. However, despite landing a frantic 5-2 win against Paris FC on August 23rd, Marseille have shown some major defensive struggles.
We know we can create goals, we can score and create a lot of chances, but we also have to be mindful that we are conceding goals. Right now. one of the objectives is to break bad habits that some of the guys might have had throughout the season. Not just break bad habits but develop new habits as well.