Villarreal go head-to-head against Marseille on Thursday. Read our Predictions and Betting Tips with Match Preview, Head-to-head stats (h2h) and Team Form Analysis.
This match will be played on 14/03/2024 at 14:45
Villarreal will try to make a historical Europa League comeback when they face Olympique Marseille at their Estadio de la Ceramica on Thursday afternoon. The Yellows need to overcome a four-goal deficit if they are to advance to the quarter-finals and we are positive that they will go all guns blazing at OM. Left-back Alberto Moreno is banned for the match, while all Albiol, Foyth, Pedraza, Pino, Suarez, and Terrats should miss out with injuries.
Marseille, meanwhile, have been producing excellent displays in all competitions ever since Jean-Louis Gasset took over the reins. Anyhow, home win should be considered as the visitors would not be too disappointed in case of descent defeat. As for the away side, all Samuel Gigot, Amir Murillo, Bilal Nadir, and Valentin Rongier remain in the recovery room, while experienced midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia should be recalled to the starting XI after coming as a substitute in a 2-0 win over Nantes at the weekend.
How the bookies view it
Villarreal have the upper hand among the bookies with a home win priced at 5/4 by Wjcasino. A victory for Marseille is valued at 19/10 by yyslot while a draw is set at odds of 14/5 by 7game.
Head to head
Marseille remain unbeaten against Villarreal, with two wins and a draw from three previous meetings. The French side claimed a 4-0 victory in last week’s first leg.
Players to watch
Villarreal may have fired blanks last week but they do have some quality in attack. Alexander Sorloth will be keen to set things right on Thursday and having found the net five times in the last four matches, could be backed to maintain his scoring run at 11/5 with 7Games bet.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted a brace in the first leg and will be the one to watch for Marseille. The striker has eight goals in his last five matches and is priced at 8/5 by wjcasino to find the net on Thursday.
Recent Meetings
- Marseille demolished Villarreal 4-0 in their first competitive head-to-head game seven days ago at Stade Orange Velodrome.
- Marseille had earlier managed a win and a draw from two friendlies against Villarreal, in 2018 and 2021 respectively.
- Can Villarreal grab their inaugural win in this matchup?
Villarreal vs Marseille Prediction
Villarreal face an uphill battle with a four-goal deficit but we fancy them to at least get a victory on the likely farewell to European football this Thursday. El Submarino Amarillo have been quite efficient in the final third of late in La Liga. Marcelino’s men are undefeated in eight subsequent league matches. They’ve scored eleven goals in the last three domestic wins and they had earlier put five goals past Barcelona in Catalan capital. Marseille have been on a hot run of form lately but Gasset even has the option to save his key players for the upcoming derby against Rennes on Sunday thanks to the scoreline from the first leg. We will back Villarreal to win at the 2.20 odds.
El Submarino Amarillo scored eleven goals in the last three league matches. Each of their previous five La Liga outings also produced goals at both ends. On the other die, Marseille notched four or more goals in three of the previous four games in all competitions. Les Phocians also kept just one clean sheet in the previous eleven away outings across competitions. We have enough reasons to back the Over 2.5 goals FT pick here at the 1.53 odds.
