Olympique Marseille will welcome Benfica to the Orange Vélodrome on Thursday evening for the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final contest. Kickoff is slated for 19:00 GMT.
Key Highlights
Marseille Look To Rediscover Their Form At The Beginning Of Jean-Louis Gasset’s Reign
After Gennaro Gattuso’s dismissal and Jean-Louis Gasset’s appointment as manager, Marseille delivered a string of positive results. However, the new manager bounce has subsided, and the French giants have struggled in recent matches.
In Gasset’s first five matches, Marseille averaged 3.6 goals a game and went on a five-match winning streak. Since then, their goal average has regressed to 0.6 per game, and they have put together a five-match losing streak against PSG (2-0), Rennes (2-0), Lille (3-1), Villareal (3-1) and the first leg loss against Benfica (2-1).
Marseille’s striker Pierre-Emerick Aubemeyang is the Europa League top scorer with 34 goals and will be motivated to pursue Henrik Larsson’s 40-goal record. The hosts will hope that the motivation is enough for the former Arsenal man to deliver in the final third and deliver a positive result. With the French side having rested over the weekend, their fitness levels will be ideal in a game requiring extra effort.
Benfica Looking To Make It To The Final Four For The First Time Since The 2013/14 Season
Benfica has been unlucky on the continent for the last decade. The Portuguese giants last made it to the semi-finals of any UEFA competition in the 2013/14 season.
Benfica fans will feel they’ve waited long enough, and Roger Schmidt and his men will go into the match with that in mind. The circumstances are set to deliver a semi-final qualification with a 2-1 advantage from the first leg. They are in fine form, having only lost one match in their last nine games.
Head-to-Head Statistics
In their last six meetings, Benfica has claimed the lion’s share of wins, with three, while Marseille has only won once, with the two matches ending in draws.
Three of their last six encounters were friendly matches, and Marseille’s only win came in a club-friendly match in 2014 when they won 2-1.
Collectively, Marseille scored six goals, an average of 1 goal per game against Benfica, while the visitors scored nine goals.
Injury Report
The hosts have seven injured players: Bamo Meite, Ismaila Sarr, Jean Onana, Jonathan Claus, Valentin Rongier, and Bilal Nadir.
Benfica will only have to deal with the absence of Juan Bernat through injury
Prediction
Benfica will win the match and proceed to the semi-finals of the Europa League.
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