Benfica vs Marseille prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – Play Offs betting tips on match 2024-04-10 19:00.
[p]Benfica became the first club to appear in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League six times when a 1-0 win in Glasgow was enough to defeat Rangers 3-2 on aggregate. They looked set to be heading into this last-eight meeting with Marseille with a lengthy winning streak, but their ambitions for silverware suffered two major blows when they lost two Lisbon derbies to Sporting, being knocked out of the TaƧa de Portugal semi-finals and missing a chance to go top of the league.[/p]
[p]Theyāll now be out to prove that bad things donāt always come in threes by qualifying for their first UEFA semi-final since the 2013/14 Europa League. There was already pressure on manager Roger Schmidt, especially after he refused to apologise for a 5-0 loss to Porto early last month – pressure which has since intensified. He should be confident of at least not taking a deficit to Marseille next week, as Benfica have never lost a Europa League game on home soil (W22, D6).[/p]
[p]The hosts also have the fortune of meeting an opposition that are having an abysmal 2024. Marseille hit a purple patch under 70-year-old interim manager Jean-Louis Gasset across February and March, winning his first five competitive games by 2+ goal margins. That included a 4-0 home demolition of Villarreal that was enough to absorb the impact of a 3-1 loss in the return leg.Ā [/p]
[p]Nonetheless, that defeat put them on the path of a further three straight losses – all also by multiple goal margins – that placed their participation in next seasonās continental competitions in jeopardy. Local reports of discontent in the playing squad with Gassetās training methods and harsh public assessments of his players threaten to bring their entire season down, but with winning this competition now their best way of returning to the Champions League, they should be motivated for this tie.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Veteran Benfica winger Ćngel Di Maria offers 17 games of experience against Marseille, including 11 direct goal contributions (G5, A6). Marseilleās Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is thriving and suffering as his club does, scoring in each of their last five competitive wins but failing to do so in their last five losses.Ā [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Nine of Marseilleās last 11 UEFA games produced over 2.5 total goals.Ā [/p]