Marseille to kickstart Europa League campaign with win
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The Europa League hasn’t gone Marseille’s way so far this term. The French side lost at home to Eintracht Frankfurt to start the competition before drawing away with minnows Apollon Limassol. Both fixtures saw Marseille surrender leads to their opponents.
Thursday night sees Marseille host Group H rivals Lazio. The Italians come into the match having been picked apart by Frankfurt, 4-1. Lazio finished match day 2 with nine men on the pitch and will be without Dusan Basta and Joaquin Correa for their trip to Marseille thanks to suspension.
Lazio go into their Europa League fixture having won five of six Serie A matches. Their last two domestic performances have seen them keep back to back clean sheets. Striker Ciro Immobile has struck six times in Serie A already, which is good for second in the league. He has tallied one goal in the Europa League and will be hungry for more against Marseille’s vulnerable defence.
Marseille are also playing well in their domestic league. Rudi Garcia’s team has won four of their last six and defeated derby rivals Nice, 1-0, over the weekend. Star forward Florian Thauvin has scored seven goals in Ligue 1, third most behind Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe and Neymar. Thauvin could miss Thursday night’s match, however. The Frenchman is struggling with an injury.
Garcia’s team go into the fixture as favourites, according to top sportsbooks. Marseille’s consistent home form will help them against Lazio. The latter has won three and lost three of their last six away games. Marseille has lost just once in seven games at home. In six of Lazio’s last seven matches, there have been two or more goals scored. In five of Marseille’s last seven games, there have been three or more goals scored.
The Europa League has seen both teams score and concede goals. Lazio’s two Europa League matches have seen three or more goals scored while Marseille have also seen three or more goals tallied. The two teams have the potential to score when they meet as both attacks are potent. Defensively, they have their faults and conceding goals is one of them.
Lazio will be without Basta and Correa along with full-backs Jordan Lukaku and Riza Durmisi. Marseille are still assessing the fitness of Morgan Sanson. The midfielder has been in good form of late and could be a big miss. Defender Rolando and striker Clinton N’Jie have already been ruled out with injury.
Marseille will pick up all three points against Lazio. Despite possible injuries and missing players, playing at home will enable Marseille to see out their first win of the Europa League and put pressure on group leaders Frankfurt.
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