Brighton vs Marseille – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Brighton host Marseille in the Europa League on Thursday night. The Seagulls and OM have already qualified from Group B but this match has the top place up for grabs. The French side are a point above Roberto De Zerbi’s team and needs a draw in England to secure first place.

Brighton Form

Brighton’s form has been somewhat curious in recent months, largely down to injuries, rotation, and the busy fixture list. After a 6-1 humiliation away to Aston Villa, they were beaten just once in the next 10 matches. However, they drew four of the first six of those matches. Brighton won 2-0 both home and away against Ajax with three 1-1 league draws around those victories.

Of late, they’ve returned to winning ways in the league. A 3-2 victory at Nottingham Forest preceded a 1-0 win in Greece at AEK Athens to secure progression. A 3-2 loss at Chelsea against ten men saw a strong display. In the last nine days, they’ve won 2-1 at home to Brentford and then surprisingly drew 1-1 at home to Burnley on Saturday.

Brighton Team News

De Zerbi continues to have injury woes to contend with. Pervis Estupinan and Tariq Lamptey are both absent at fullback and Adam Webster is doubtful in central defence. Pascal Gross could play at right-back unless Joel Veltman is recalled. Either veteran James Milner or youngster Jack Hinshelwood will cover at left back.

Danny Welbeck, Ansu Fati, Solly March, and Julio Enciso are all injured in the attacking areas. Kaoru Mitoma will return to the XI after his partial rest on Saturday. Joao Pedro could move inside from the left wing to number ten with Adam Lallana benched.

Brighton Motivation

Brighton will play their usual attacking style of play. The team selection will indicate how seriously they are taking this match.

It’s expected that they will go all out to win the clash to secure the top spot in the group. That will mean they avoid another two matches in the knockout round against a team dropping down from the Champions League.

Marseille Form

Marseille sits sixth in Ligue 1, a full 13 points off PSG already. They weren’t in good form a couple of months ago as they lost to all of PSG, Monaco, and Nice in Ligue 1. They have since rallied and looked stronger with one defeat in nine. They beat AEK Athens 3-1 at home and 2-0 away.

A 4-3 home win over Ajax sealed qualification for the Europa League. Three league wins in a row have followed that victory as confidence has returned. They beat Rennes 2-0 at home, Lyon 3-0 at home and won 4-2 at Lorient over the weekend.

Marseille Team News

Coach Gennaro Gattuso has Iliman Ndiaye available again after a domestic suspension. Central midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia is injured and so is fellow midfielder Valentin Rongier. Forward Joaquin Correa will also play no part in this match.

Michael Murillo and Jonathan Clauss will compete to start at right wingback. The latter was red carded in the league over the weekend. The side is very settled otherwise in a 3-4-1-2 setup with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leading the line.

Marseille Motivation

OM will want to hold onto the top spot in the group for an easier passage to the round of 16. A draw is enough to win the group.

Gattuso could set up quite pragmatically and look to allow De Zerbi’s team plenty of the ball.

Key Stats

Brighton’s 11 home matches this season have seen 1 clean sheet

Brighton have seen Both Teams Score in 10 of their 11 home matches this season

Brighton have lost just once in 10 matches (all competitions).

These sides played out a 2-2 draw earlier this season

Marseille have won their last 3 Europa League matches (9 goals scored)

Verdict

Both sides should score in this match. Brighton have some fresh legs to bring into the XI but their defence is compromised. A score draw could be the best tip here.

Best Bet: Both Teams to Score & Over 2.5 goals at 1.86
Alternative Bet: Over 3.5 goals at 2.20
High-Value Bet: Tie with goals at 5.25

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis