Brighton vs Marseille. Prediction and Preview. Probable Lineups, Team News, Stats, and more

Brighton & Hove Albion will host Olympique de Marseille in the UEFA Europa League 6th round group stage match at the Amex Stadium (Group B). The fixture will take place on Friday, December 15, beginning at 1:30 a.m. IST.

Brighton and Marseille occupy the top two places in the group. Going into the closing UEL group stage round their rivals are no longer able to challenge this state of things. Up until recently, this meant that the quarted leaders could take it easy and start preparing for the Europa League play-offs, giving chances to youth and reserves. However, now the first place skips the first round of the knock-out round unlike the second position, so securing the top spot has become a matter of pivotal importance. The teams are charging into the fray.

Parimatch News will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.

Brighton & Hove Albion News & Current Form: 

Roberto De Zerbi can be proud of his work at Brighton. This is evident both in the playing patterns and in the achievements of previously unseen milestones: last season the team made it to the UEL, and this season they are not losing the momentum, confidently staying in the upper half of the standings, only 7 points behind the 4th place of the EPL after 16 rounds. 

Expectedly, the Seagulls got off to a rather slow start in the group stage, picking up only one point in two meetings, and even losing to seemingly the weakest team in the quartet – AEK Athens. However, then the English not only got their act together, but stopped losing points at all, and in what manner – three consecutive clean-sheet victories.

However, this is still only good enough for second place; a face-to-face clash against the Group B leaders will decide whether the team will play an extra play-off round. Brighton have had some uneven games since winning their last Europa League game, and at the weekend, despite a commanding domination, failed to beat modest Burnley (1-1), who are destined for a return to the EFL Championship. Is it a temporary slump, or a purposeful accumulation of resources for the high-priority Eurocup quest?

Without a doubt, Brighton boast one of the best defenses in this Europa League draw – 5 goals conceded in 5 games (the best defense in Quartet B). Together with the balance in other lines, the club’s performance is well described by the expected goals difference per 90 minutes, which is +0.73 (7th among the 32 group stage participants). This is a remarkable stats, considering that the newcomer has to compete with the real mastodons and regulars of the European competitions. For comparison, OM has this indicator equal to +0.53. Also worth noting is the fact that Brighton have scored goals in all of their current Europa League matches.

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Olympique de Marseille News & Current Form: 

The start of the season for the Provençals was not the most pleasant, but after the appointment of head coach Gennaro Gattuso, OM’s results have gradually improved. Marseille are still only sixth in the French league, but they are confidently making up for lost ground at the start of the season. The previous three outings saw three convincing victories – at home over Rennes (2-0) and Lyon (3-0), away over Lorient (4-2). Taking into account all tournaments, the team can boast a 6-match unbeaten streak. 

If we talk in terms of Europa League – the situation is under control, the pressure before the 6th match of the group stage is much lower than on the opponent, the whole point is that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Co. will be satisfied with a draw, which looks quite achievable result given the above-mentioned streak. It is noteworthy that Marseille have scored at least 2 goals in the last five UEL games and in general the team shows an extremely interesting attacking football.

Today it will be very important for Gennaro Gattuso’s wards not to complicate and not to invent a bicycle: they just need to play utterly organized and disciplined. All the inputs for this are in place: the French have a winning run of four consecutive matches, and Marseille’s average goal-scoring performance in this stretch is simply outstanding – 3.25 goals per 90 minutes. The xGD in Ligue 1 is +0.71, only PSG do better. There are reasons to believe that the French will be able to hold out for a favorable result in England.

Brighton & Hove Albion form guide (all competitions): D-W-W-L-W-D

Olympique de Marseille form guide (all competitions): L-D-W-W-W-W

Brighton & Hove Albion vs Olympique de Marseille Head-To-Head Record:

Brighton & Hove Albion vs Olympique de Marseille Predicted XI:

Brighton & Hove Albion’s possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Steele; Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Hinshelwood; Gross, Gilmour; Adingra, Pedro, Mitoma; Ferguson.

Marseille’s possible starting lineup (4-4-2): Lopez; Clauss, Gigot, Mbemba, Lodi; Sarr, Veretout, Ounahi, Harit; Ndiaye, Aubameyang.

Statistical preview of the match Brighton & Hove Albion vs Marseille:

• Brighton’s First XI average age is 25.9 years, while Marseille’s First XI average age is 28.9 years.
• The total value of Brighton’s squad is €469.30m (4,693,000 lakhs), while Marseille’s total is 248,80m (around 2,488,000 lakhs).
• Marseille have never lost by two goals or more in their last ten games. 
• Marseille have only two wins in their last 11 away games. 
• The Seagulls have five wins in eleven games on home soil this season. 
• In 11 of their previous 14 games, Brighton have both scored and conceded. 
• 4 of Marseille’s 5 matches in the current Europa League draw have seen more than 2.5 goals scored. 
• In just 2 out of 10 matches Brighton have had a total of more than 3.
• Brighton’s injury list: Enciso, Estupiñán, Fati, Lamptey, March, Welbeck and Webster (Questionable). Correa, Ronger and Ruiz will be unavailable for Marseille.

What has been said before the match:

Marseille coach Gennaro Gattuso on Brighton boss Roberto Di Zerbi: 

“To be honest, we didn’t see eye to eye when we were young… But there is great respect on my part. He’s one of the greatest, for me. He’s one of the most important Italian coaches we have at the moment. He knows how to make his team play in an incredible way. There’s great respect. I think very highly of him, and I’m proud that we have such a young coach doing so well in England.”

Brighton’s captain, Lewis Dunk:

“We are all focused on taking the three points as it would mean we go straight to the Round of 16 in March, rather than face a Champions League side in a play-off game in February,” said the Albion skipper. “Not that it would be an issue for us, but given the stresses and strains on the squad encountered already, it would potentially mean two less games to play in an already packed fixture list… So, we need our fans to really get behind the lads again as we prepare to face a very good Marseille side and, I’m sure, an away crowd who will make plenty of noise.”

“Marseille showed their capabilities against us at the Stade Velodrome and have since picked up three excellent results: back-to-back wins against AEK Athens and a 4-3 victory last time out against Ajax. Like us, they have grown into the competition and will also be keen to finish top of the group, so it should make for a really entertaining game.”

Brighton & Hove Albion vs Olympique de Marseille Prediction:

Brighton, as at the beginning of the season, continues to consistently arrange interpenetrating resultive shootouts in their matches. However, the number of ultra productive games has decreased. It is unlikely that the upcoming meeting will turn out to be such, given that both teams have good statistics in defense, and the fact that Marseille will be satisfied with a draw. Gennaro Gattuso’s team may well play cautious football, this will prevent the Seagulls from implementing their strategy of playing on the counter courses, there will be less opportunities, and as their chances conversion has been sluggish lately, the odds of finishing the group stage in first place are slim. We believe that Marseille can at least not lose and will achieve their objective – in the last nine matches the Provençals have lost only once, and in the most important fixture of the season at the moment they can definitely snatch a much-needed point.

Parimatch News staff prediction:

We say: Marseille will not lose and the match total will be less than 4 – Yes.Don`t miss out 👉: Chennaiyin vs Bengaluru: Preview and Prediction