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Olympique Marseille will host Benfica at the Orange Velodrome on Thursday in the second leg of the quarterfinals of the 2023-24 UEFA Europa League campaign.
The home side have hit a rough patch of late and will be desperate to bounce back when they return to action this week. They were beaten 3-1 by Lille in their last league outing, conceding all three goals in the second half as they fell to their fourth consecutive defeat at the Stade Pierre Mauroy.
Benfica, meanwhile, are playing well at the moment and will hope they can carry that momentum onto the continental stage this week. They beat Moreirense 3-0 in their last match with Orkun Kokcu and Tomas Araujo getting on the scoresheet in the first half before Benjamin Rollheiser came off the bench in the second half to wrap up the points with his maiden goal for the club.
The visitors picked up a 2-1 victory in the first-leg clash last week, taking a two-goal lead via strikes from Rafa Silva and Angel Di Maria before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang halved the deficit for the French side midway through the second half.
Olympique Marseille vs Benfica Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- There have been seven meetings between Marseille and Benfica. The hosts have won three of those games while the visitors have won twice. There have been two draws between the two teams.
- The hosts are without a clean sheet in their last five games in this fixture.
- Marseille are the third-highest-scoring side in the Europa League this season with a goal tally of 25.
- All three of Benfica's league defeats this season have come on the road.
- As Águias have scored at least one goal in their last nine games across all competitions.
Olympique Marseille vs Benfica Prediction
Olympique Marseille are on a five-game losing streak after winning each of their five games prior. They have, however, won all but one of their last five home games and will be hopeful of a positive result this week.
Benfica, meanwhile, are on a run of back-to-back victories and have lost just one of their last nine games across all competitions. They have had their struggles on the road of late but should hold on to their first-leg advantage on Thursday.
Prediction: Olympique Marseille 2-2 Benfica
Olympique Marseille vs Benfica Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Draw
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Over 2.5 goals (Three of the last four matches between the two teams have produced more than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: YES (Both sides have found the back of the net in each of their last five matchups)
