Four teams are just two games away from a place in the final of the Europa League but which team can take an advantage into the second leg of the semi-final?
The match between Marseille and Atalanta will be played on the 2nd of May at the Stade Vélodrome in France. The hosts are currently 7th in Ligue 1 on 44 points while the visitors are in 6th place in Serie A on 57 points.
Marseille come into the game having beat Lens 2-1 at home in Ligue 1 on the weekend.
𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲́𝗲, 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁, 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘁 🍽️Récupération, une-deux et but : c’est la 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙪𝙡𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚̀𝙩𝙚 du dimanche soir servie par chef 𝐏𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐆𝐮𝐞𝐲𝐞 hier face à Lens 🔥🇸🇳 #OMRCL#SublimeCôtedIvoire ✨ pic.twitter.com/7pt3F6BnAa— Olympique de Marseille (@OM_Officiel) April 29, 2024
𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲́𝗲, 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁, 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘁 🍽️Récupération, une-deux et but : c’est la 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙪𝙡𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚̀𝙩𝙚 du dimanche soir servie par chef 𝐏𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐆𝐮𝐞𝐲𝐞 hier face à Lens 🔥🇸🇳 #OMRCL#SublimeCôtedIvoire ✨ pic.twitter.com/7pt3F6BnAa
It was a good result for Marseille against a team currently above them in the table and it took just 1 minute for Les Olympiens to open the scoring.
Into the second half and Lens equalised in the 77th minute but there was still time for Marseille to score the winner in the 85th minute.
The victory over Lens means Marseille are undefeated in their 4 most recent fixtures in all competitions.
There was a 1-0 home win over Benfica in the Europa League and draws with Toulouse away and Nice at home in Ligue 1.
Trends show Marseille have won 3 of their last 5 games in the Europa League and all 3 of those victories have come at home.
In fact, Marseille have won each of their last 5 home Europa League matches and have seen both teams score in 4 of their 6 most recent Europa League fixtures on home soil.
Atalanta travel to the Stade Vélodrome on the back of a 2-0 home win over Empoli in Serie A.
Atalanta fans were forced to wait until the 42nd minute for the first goal and the hosts doubled their advantage with a second goal shortly after half-time.
The win over Empoli means Atalanta have won each of their last 3 fixtures in all competitions.
There was an excellent 4-1 home victory over Fiorentina in the semi-final of the Coppa Italia and a 2-1 win at Monza in Serie A.
The stats show Atalanta are undefeated in 9 of their last 10 Europa League matches.
They are undefeated in each of their last 8 away games in the competition and have seen both teams score in 4 of their last 6 Europa League fixtures on the road.
Atalanta showed their credentials with a superb 3-0 win at Liverpool in the previous round of the Europa League.
Looking ahead to the team news and Marseille are without the injured quartet of Chancel Mbemba, Quentin Merlin, Bamo Meïté, and Valentin Rongier.
Atalanta have two players unavailable for this game, with Rafael Toloi and Emil Holm missing out.
The statistics paint a nice picture for the teams in terms of their home and away form, respectively.
That makes it difficult to predict a winner but we believe both teams will find the back of the net and the match could end level, setting it up nicely for the second leg in Italy.