Benfica will be looking to take a first-leg lead in their Europa League quarter-final tie against Marseille when they face off at Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica on Thursday evening.
The second leg will take place at Stade Velodrome next week, and the winners will advance to the final four of the competition, where they will face either Liverpool or Atalanta next month.
Match preview
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Benfica have been enjoying a solid season but experienced disappointment in the Champions League, where they failed to qualify for the knockout stages, finishing eight points behind Real Sociedad and Inter Milan.
However, they managed to clinch third place ahead of Red Bull Salzburg to remain in Europe, albeit in the Europa League, and defeated Toulouse 2-1 in the playoffs before overcoming Rangers 3-2 on aggregate in the round of 16.
The Eagles have been in good form lately, losing only one of their last seven games, although that came in their last match, beaten 2-1 in the Lisbon derby against their arch-nemeses Sporting Lisbon last weekend, which saw them drop four points behind the Lions in the Primeira Liga standings.
Still, Roger Schmidt's side will be looking forward to returning to their home patch, where they have only conceded one loss in their last 19 matches in all competitions and are unbeaten in their last eight, including six wins and two draws.
In previous European competitions' knockout stages, these teams have met twice, totalling four matches, with Benfica emerging victorious on both occasions. However, this is the first meeting between the two in a competitive match since March 2010.
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Meanwhile, Marseille finished second in their Europa League group behind Brighton & Hove Albion and qualified for the last eight by defeating Shakhtar Donetsk 5-3 on aggregate in the playoffs before overcoming Villarreal by the same aggregate scoreline in the round of 16.
However, outside of European competition, Les Phoceens have been far from impressive, currently down in eighth place in Ligue 1, 10 points behind Lille, who are currently holding the Europa League qualification spot for next season.
Their poor form this season, including failing to win any of their first five league matches in 2024 (W0 D3 L2), led to Gennaro Gattuso's sacking in mid-February and the appointment of Jean-Louis Gasset as his replacement.
Gasset was in charge of the Ivory Coast national team prior to his appointment at Marseille and was let go by the Elephants midway through the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year before Emerse Fae steered them to the continental title over Nigeria.
After a bright start to his tenure at the Stade Velodrome, which included five wins in a row in all competitions, the new boss finds himself under pressure here, with his side now on a four-match losing streak after losing 3-1 to Lille last weekend.
OM have only won one of their nine away European matches in Portugal while drawing one and losing seven, but they are enjoying their best scoring season in Europe, currently on 24 goals in this competition, with only Liverpool (28) finding the net more often.
Team News
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Fredrik Aursnes was shown a red card against Sporting last week but will likely line up in the four-man defence here alongside Nicolas Otamendi, Antonio Silva and Alexander Bah before serving his one-match ban against Moreirense this weekend.
With three goals in four Europa League appearances this season, former Real Madrid star Angel Di Maria will look to play another pivotal role in this match, while 19-year-old sensation Joao Neves, who has been heavily linked with a move away from the Primeira Liga this summer, is expected to once again team up with Florentino Luis in the Eagles' engine room.
Marseille, on the other hand, head into this match with a fairly lengthy injury list featuring the likes of Michael Murillo, Bilal Nadir, Valentin Rongier and Pedro Ruiz.
Congo international Chancel Mbemba has been flagged as a doubt for Thursday's clash but has not been ruled out just yet.
Enjoying a remarkable Europa League campaign with nine goals in nine appearances, former Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will lead Marseille's offensive efforts abroad, while former Borussia Dortmund prospect Leonardo Balerdi is likely to join forces with French defender Samuel Gigot in the heart of Marseille's defence.
Benfica possible starting lineup:
Trubin; Bah, A. Silva, Otamendi, Aursnes; Neves, Luis; R. Silva; Neres, Cabral, Di Maria
Marseille possible starting lineup:
Lopez; Mbemba, Gigot, Balerdi, Merlin; Kondogbia, Veretout, Harit; Ndiaye, Moumbagna, Aubameyang
We say: Benfica 2-1 Marseille
Benfica have been in excellent form at the Estadio da Luz this season and come into this match unbeaten in their last eight home games in all competitions. Marseille, on the other hand, are on a three-match losing streak on the road and have only won once in their last eight games away from Stade Velodrome.
We are expecting an entertaining match here but feel that the hosts will take a first-leg lead to France next week.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
