Ahead of this semi-final second-leg game, Marseille took a big step toward qualifying for the Europa League (EL) final after beating RB Salzburg 2-0 at the Stade Velodrome in the first-leg. Meanwhile, Salzburg will feel they are in with a chance of overturning the first-leg deficit with the added support of their fans.
Salzburg have played against three French sides in their European history and have returned a home record of: W2, L1 (GF 3, GA 1). Salzburg won this fixture against Marseille 1-0 in the EL group stage back in September.
On the other side, from three away games against Austrian sides in European competition, Marseille have a record that currently stands at: W1, D0, L2 (GF 3, GA 5).
In the EL quarter-final, Salzburg recovered from a 4-2 loss to Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico, by beating them 4-1 in the return leg at the Red Bull Arena. Will Salzburg be able to reproduce such an exploit here?
However, Rudi Garcia’s side come into this game with much confidence having not conceded more than one goal in their last nine away fixtures in the competition. Furthermore, they have a positive away record in European semi-finals that stands at: W2, D2, L1 - scoring six goals, and conceding four.
Players to watch: Marseille midfielder Dimitri Payet is in great form this season with three goals and six assists in the EL - the joint-highest assists tally in the competition.
He will go head-to-head with Salzburg striker Munas Dabbur who has scored a tally of 19 league goals and is the Austrian Bundesliga’s top scorer.
Stat attack: Salzburg will rely on their impressive record at home, where they have gone unbeaten in their last 38 matches, dating back to 2016 (W30, D8, L0).
Marseille have won 14 of the 20 European competition fixtures in which they have won the first-leg, having also done it already three times this season.
Predictions
With Marseille having lost four of their last six Europa League away ties without scoring a goal, those 11/10 (2.10) odds look like solid value on a Salzburg outfit that has conceded just twice in eight matches in front of their own fans at least coming out on top here.