A place in the last four is the prize as Benfica host Marseille in their Europa League quarter-final first leg on Thursday. Marseille appear to have completely lost their way in the build up to this one and Benfica will be confident of claiming a solid advantage.
Benfica are into the quarter-finals of the Europa League thanks to a 3-2 aggregate victory over Rangers. Following a 2-2 draw at home, they picked up a 1-0 victory at Ibrox thanks to Rafa Silva’s second half effort.
Although Benfica lost 2-1 at title rivals Sporting CP in a Primeira Liga fixture last weekend, their recent form has been solid. They had been unbeaten in their previous five matches, claiming four wins in that run.
The Estadio da Luz is where Benfica often do their best work as they are unbeaten in their last eight home matches across all competitions, claiming six wins in that run. However, Roger Schmidt’s men often struggle to keep things tight at the back and are without a clean sheet in three of their last four matches in front of their fans.
Marseille overcame Spanish side Villarreal 5-3 on aggregate to secure a place in the quarterfinals. They ran out 4-0 winners in the home leg of the tie and were able to progress despite a 3-1 defeat in the return fixture.
It has been all downhill for Marseille since confirming their place in the quarterfinals. Jean-Louis Gasset’s men have lost their last four matches across all competitions and were beaten 3-1 by Lille in Ligue 1 last weekend.
Marseille have also been poor travellers in recent weeks, picking up just one win from their last eight away matches. They travel to the Estadio da Luz off the back of four defeats from their last five matches on the road.
How the bookies view it
Benfica have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 22/25 by Unibet to claim the win. A victory for Marseille is valued at 16/5 with bet365 while a draw is set at odds of 29/10 by William Hill.
Head to head
Benfica are unbeaten against Marseille, claiming two wins and as many draws from four previous meetings. The last fixture between both teams was a friendly in 2021 which ended in a 1-1 draw.
Players to watch
Rafa Silva netted the winner last time out at Ibrox and often carries the goal threat for Benfica. The forward could be worth keeping an eye on to score anytime on Thursday at 12/5 with bet365.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has stood out for Marseille in this season’s Europa League with seven goals in his last six matches in the competition. The striker is priced at 7/4 by bet365 to maintain his scoring run.
Anything else catch the eye?
There have been over 3.5 goals in Marseille’s last two Europa League matches and a similar outcome is priced at 2/1 by Paddy Power. Over 2.5 goals could also be considered at 4/5 with William Hill while Coral is offering 7/10 on both teams to score.
Benfica have seen more goals after the break in four of their last five matches and a similar pattern is priced at 11/10 by Paddy Power.
This UEFA Europa League match between Benfica and Marseille will be played on Apr 11, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Benfica vs Marseille prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.