Marseille welcome Ajax to the Stade Orange Velodrome for a Europa League Group B fixture on Thursday. The French side need a win to progress to the knockout phase and with Ajax still looking out of sorts, a home win could be on the cards.
It has been an interesting campaign for Marseille so far as they have struggled domestically while continuing to look sharp in Europe. They are currently in the bottom half of Ligue 1 but top of Group B in the Europa League and on the verge of reaching the knockout stage.
The contrast between domestic and continental engagements is quite stark for Marseille, who are still unbeaten in the Europa League. Having begun with successive draws, Gennaro Gattuso’s men have now won their last two Group B matches, including a 2-0 victory at AEK Athens in their previous fixture.
Overall, Marseille will head into Thursday’s clash unbeaten in four of their last five matches across all competitions. They have also claimed two wins and a draw from their last three home matches across all competitions.
In contrast to Marseille’s Jekyll and Hyde campaign, Ajax have found things difficult across all competitions this season. They are currently sitting mid-table in the Eredivisie and also winless after four matches in Group B of the Europa League.
Ajax made a similar start to Marseille in the Europa League as they began with successive draws. However, it has been all downhill for the Dutch giants, who have lost their last two matches, suffering back-to-back 2-0 defeats to Brighton & Hove Albion.
In fairness, Ajax have shown signs of life in recent weeks, claiming three wins and a draw from their last five matches and picked up a 5-0 Eredivisie victory over Vitesse last weekend. However, John van’t Schip’s men are still poor on their travels and are unbeaten in the last seven away matches across all competitions, suffering four defeats in that run.
How the bookies view it
Marseille have been installed as overwhelming favourites among the bookies with a home win priced at 8/13 by Unibet. A victory for Ajax is valued at 17/4 by bet365 while a draw is set at odds of 3/1 by Paddy Power.
Head to head
Marseille have claimed one win from four previous matches against Ajax while the other three meetings have ended in draws. Both teams battled to a 3-3 draw in the reverse fixture back in September.
Players to watch
Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang should continue to lead the line for Marseille and could be worth keeping an eye on. The striker netted a brace in the reverse fixture and is priced at 11/8 by Paddy Power to find the net on Thursday.
Ajax also have the quality to hold their own going forward, with Chuba Akpom looking particularly sharp in recent weeks. The attacker has five goals in his last six matches across all competitions and is priced at 3/1 by William Hill to maintain his scoring run.
Anything else catch the eye?
It was a six-goal thriller in the reverse fixture and another high scoring encounter could be on the cards. Over 4.5 goals is priced at 19/5 by Paddy Power while BoyleSports is offering odds of 6/4 for over 3.5 goals.
With Marseille priced at minimal odds for a straight victory, a win and both teams to score should be considered fortress value at 21/10 with William Hill.
This UEFA Europa League match between Marseille and Ajax will be played on Nov 30, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Marseille vs Ajax prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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