Athletic Bilbao are looking to extend their goal-scoring run in the Europa League when they square off against Marseille at Stade Velodrome.
Olympique Marseille have not been so impressive under Spanish tactician Michel this season, but they are still alive in the Europa League, and much in the race for a place in the Champions League qualifiers next season – although they currently occupy 11th place in Ligue 1, they are only five points short of the 4th that would give them what they need. Also, after kicking off their Europa League campaign with a win over Groningen, and suffering back-to-back defeats to Slovan Liberec and Sporting Braga, the French managed to overcome the crisis and thanks to three straight wins progress to the knockout stages of the competition. Now they are facing Athletic Bilbao following a 1-1 draw with Nice at Allianz Riviera in Ligue 1.
The Basque easily clinched top position in their group four points clear of second-placed Augsburg, with Aritz Aduriz enjoying yet another successful season and scoring goals. Ernesto Valverde’s troops suffered a 4-2 loss to Real Madrid at the weekend, but such a defeat won’t affect the morale of the Basque squad, as Athletic look to be involved in the later stages of the competition with a reminiscence of their 2012 Final.
Head to Head:
This will be the first ever meeting between the sides in a competitive game.
Match facts:
- Olympique Marseille are eyeing their third straight win at home ground in Europa League.
- Marseille are on a total of three-match winning run in the competition as well.
- Athletic Bilbao scored five goals in total in previous two away games in Europa League, as they look to be in a fantastic goalscoring form in the competition.
- “The Lions” suffered only one loss in previous seven games in the competition.
Team news:
Lucas Ocampos, Benjamin Mendy and Paolo de Ceglie are all out of contention with injury, while Remy Cabella misses the game through suspension. Zambo Anguissa is yet another absentee in the home team.
As for the visitors, Ibai Gomez and Raul Garcia are sidelined with Markel Susaeta being a major doubt still.
FRom : SS.com
