Cramps Against Olympiacos, Aguerd Benched for OM's Trip to Angers

Nayef Aguerd is paying the price for the fixture congestion accumulated since early September. The 30-year-old Moroccan centre-back, who suffered cramps in both legs late in Thursday’s Europa League match against Olympiacos (0-1 defeat), does not feature in Bruno Genesio’s starting XI for OM’s trip to Angers on Sunday at Stade Raymond-Kopa.

Aguerd’s situation at Marseille has been chaotic, to say the least. In August, his transfer to Real Sociedad — a loan deal worth two million euros with a 17 million euro purchase option — collapsed at the last moment after his medical. The player had a change of heart, refusing to commit to a schedule combining La Liga and Europa League that he deemed too demanding. This reversal forced the Marseille hierarchy, already under pressure to reduce the wage bill, to work with a player they were trying to offload.

Since his first start on 6 September against Paris FC, the former Rennes player has made seven consecutive starts in less than two months — including two appearances for Morocco against Gabon and Mali — with only one rest day against Besiktas on 17 September. A schedule clearly incompatible with his recovery protocol, which OM apparently failed to respect.

Against Olympiacos, as Marseille pushed for an equaliser and left the Greeks exposed on the counter, Aguerd collapsed on the pitch, both legs seized up. The warning sign was hard to ignore.

Genesio therefore lines up Geoffrey Kondogbia in central defence alongside CJ Egan-Riley. In midfield, Nouhoum Kamissoko — already a starter in last weekend’s 0-2 victory at Troyes — partners Tochukwu Nnadi, with Himad Abdelli deployed as number 10. Angel Gomes starts on the bench, while Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg remains unavailable.