The race for a final place in Dublin this season continues on Thursday, as the second legs in the Europa League take place. A finely poised tie between Marseille and Atalanta will reach its conclusion in Italy, with the home side looking to make history by reaching a first-ever European final.
Atalanta will be hoping to complete the job when they come up against Marseille in the return leg of their semi-final on Thursday. However, the Italian side will be hopeful that they can achieve that, as they landed victory in their only previous home match against a French rival when beating Lyon in the 2017-18 Europa League.
But, their experience at this stage of the competition may be a slight concern, as they have never previously reached a European final. Therefore, they could become the first team since FC Dnipo to reach a debut appearance in the final. Marseille have considerably more experience at this stage, as they previously reached the Europa League final in 2018 before losing 3-0 against Atletico Madrid.
Marseille’s record against Italian opposition could be a big concern ahead of this second leg. The French team are winless in their last eight, but each of the previous five have ended in draws. Meanwhile, their away record is extremely poor in Italy after winning on just one of their previous eleven trips. Their only success was achieved at the San Siro against Inter Milan in 2004.
Both sides have impressive records after avoiding defeat in the first leg of a European tie. Atalanta have progressed from four of their last five, which includes in the previous round when seeing off Liverpool. Marseille’s record is also incredibly strong after progressing from their last nine ties after avoiding defeat in the first leg.
This will only be the second time that these sides have clashed in a competitive fixture. The previous meeting came last week when the teams played out a 1-1 draw at the Stade Velodrome. But, Marseille’s poor away record against Italian sides could be a damning trend when it comes to their chances this week.
Bet hereMarseille and Atalanta played out a cagey first leg in France last week, with the sides failing to be separated following a 1-1 draw. Atalanta took the lead inside the opening eleven minutes following Gianluca Scamacca’s effort. However, the advantage only lasted for nine before Marseille were dragged level by Chancel Mbemba Mangulu.
The draw extended Marseille’s unbeaten home record in Europe to eight games, while Atalanta have now gone ten on the road without a defeat. Scamacca could once again be a key player for this second leg, as his effort last week was his sixth in the Europa League this term.
Leonardo Balerdi will be available for Marseille after serving his domestic suspension. However, Bamo Meite is out for the remainder of the season for the French team, while Valentin Rongier is unlikely to feature on Thursday.
Sead Kolasinac is unlikely to feature again this season for Atalanta. Meanwhile, Rafael Toloi and Emil Holm could be fit enough for the final if the Italian side make it to Dublin this week.
This will be a very interesting second leg in the Europa League on Thursday, with Atalanta looking likely to be favourites given that they have home field advantage.
The Italian side have been strong in home matches throughout the season to this point, and we could see them reaching a first European final by landing a 2-0 success this week.
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