Villarreal vs Marseille prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – Play Offs betting tips on match 2024-03-13 17:45.
[p]An atrocious first leg has all but eliminated Villarreal from this season’s UEFA Europa League (UEL) after they lost 4-0 to Marseille at the Stade VĂ©lodrome. That defeat means that they now boast a negative record against French opposition in 11 such matches (W4, D2, L5), undoing the hard work they put in when twice beating another Ligue 1 side in Rennes on their way to topping Group F.[/p]
[p]The 2020/21 winners of this competition will no doubt go out on their shield, as they have a record of just one home loss in their last eight European games to improve on (W5, D2). And the Yellow Submarine have shown recently that they have goals in them, having scored 11 times in their last three La Liga encounters, which all ended in victory. [/p]
[p]For Marseille, their first-leg performance saw them claim only their fifth win in 17 meetings with Spanish clubs (D3, L9), which will be cause for optimism ahead of Thursday’s outing, considering that just one of those victories came away from home. L’OM are in full control of this tie and can fall back on a record of winning 18 of the 24 UEFA knockout ties when they’ve claimed a first-leg lead on their own patch – the last nine of which have come in succession.[/p]
[p]Assuming they go through as expected, not many teams will be keen to draw the dangerous-looking Olympians, who’ll be hoping to go one better than the three runners-up medals they’ve achieved in either the UEFA Cup or, latterly, the UEL. They’ll want to keep the momentum at the Estadio de la Cerámica, but that will be a challenge, since they’ve won only two of their last nine European matches on their travels (D2, L5).[/p]
[p]Key battle: Despite his recent struggles in front of goal, Villarreal will be hoping Gerard Moreno comes good here since six of his last seven goals have come on the road. Responsible for keeping him at bay is Marseille defender Chancel Mbemba, who’s also pitched in with five club goals this term – all of which have arrived in the first half. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Seven of Marseille’s nine UEL matches this season have produced over 3.5 goals.[/p]