SALZBURG v MARSEILLE
Thursday 3rd May 2018 – Kickoff: 2005hrs
Football – Europe – Europa League Betting Tips
The second semi-final second leg in the Europa League concerns Austrian club, Salzburg, taking on French side, Marseille, with tonight’s hosts looking to erase a two-goal deficit following last week’s 2-0 first leg defeat in France.
Salzburg have been one of the dark horses of this year’s Europa League as they’ve progressed from the group stages unbeaten (where they topped Group I which also contained this evening’s opponents, Marseille), which was followed by taking the scalps of some noteworthy opponents in the knock-out rounds with wins over Real Sociedad, Borussia Dortmund and Lazio.
In the knock-out rounds alone, Salzburg have racked up 12 goals to date, and although they’ve also conceded on a regular basis, they’ve somehow found a way to win the overall tie. Forwards such as Dabour (19 goals), Gulbrandsen (9 goals) and Minamino (7 goals) are the threats up front for the hosts.
Marseille are seemingly in the driving seat ahead of this deciding second leg at the Red Bull Arena, following last week’s first leg 2-0 win at their Stade Velodrome, but although they’re unbeaten in their last six matches in all competitions, they’ll need to ensure they do a professional job in Austria on Thursday night if they’re to progress to the final.
Four of Marseille’s last five wins in the Europa League were recorded on home turf with the exception of a 2-1 win away at Spanish club, Athletic Bilbao, but this has been a rare success on the road for the French outfit in the Europa League as Marseille have won just once in their last nine away matches.
As well as defeats at Vitoria Guimaraes, Sporting Braga and RB Leipzig, they were also on the end of a 1-0 loss in their last visit to Salzburg back in the group stages, and I daresay this evening’s hosts will still be confident they can turn things around here, given they put four past Lazio in the previous round.
But Marseille are not without a serious attacking threat themselves with the likes of Thauvin (20 goals), Ocampos (9 goals) and Mitroglou (8 goals) in their personnel tonight.
Pick: Both teams to score @ 1.67 Betfair
