The second legs of the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League take place on Thursday night and one of the most evenly poised of the ties sees Marseille welcome RB Leipzig to the Stade Velodrome having lost the first leg 1-0 in Germany.
The French club are the only one of the two teams who have any history in European competition, having won the Champions League in 1992/93 and the home fans would love nothing more than to taste success on the European stage once again.
RB Leipzig were not even in existence the last time Marseille won a European competition and the Bundesliga club will be aiming to keep it that way as they look to defend their lead from the first leg last week.
Marseille come into this match having been held 0-0 at home by Montpellier on the weekend and that result means they have won just one of their last four matches in all competitions. The win came away at Dijon in Ligue 1 and you must go back to the Europa League game against Athletic Club on the 8th March to find the last time Marseille won on home soil.
However, Marseille have lost only one of their last nineteen home matches in all competitions this season. Trends show they are undefeated at home in the Europa League, winning six and drawing one of their seven games.
Five of Marseille’s seven Europa League matches have ended in a result which is good enough to see them win the tie or at least take it to extra-time.
RB Leipzig travel to the south of France following a disastrous home result in the Bundesliga on Monday night. Having taken the lead in the game, RB Leipzig went on to concede 4 unanswered goals as they slumped to a surprise 4-1 loss to Bayer Leverkusen.
That was RB Leipzig’s first defeat in eight games and their season is in danger of finishing without a trophy and outside the top four if they allow their form to dip at this crucial stage of the campaign.
RB Leipzig started the season in the Champions League and won one and lost two of their group games, with the victory coming against another French club, Monaco. In the Europa League, RB Leipzig are undefeated away from home, defeating Napoli 3-1 and holding Zenit to a 1-1 draw. Both results would be good enough to see RB Leipzig progress to the semi-final.
Team news and Marseille are expected to be without Steve Mandanda and Adil Rami who are injured. Florian Thauvin and Rolando are doubtful and Luiz Gustavo may be forced to continue in central defence.
RB Leipzig travel without the injured duo of Marcel Halstenberg and Stefan Ilsanker. Willi Orban returns following suspension but Naby Keita is a doubt having picked up a knock on Monday.
Marseille know they need to win this game by a 2-goal margin if RB Leipzig score and that’s something the German club have done in all but one of their away European games this season. This match could see over 2.5 goals, with the visitors progressing on the away goals rule.