Marseille continue the search for their first win in this seasons UEFA Europa League as they host Galatasaray in a Group E clash at the Orange Velodrome. Boosted by the return of the influential Dimitri Payet, the French side should have too much for Galatasaray, who have looked off colour in recent weeks.
Marseille played out a 1-1 draw at Lokomotiv Moscow in their opening fixture of the Europa League. They took the lead through Cengiz Under and looked on the verge of claiming the victory before conceding the equaliser one minute from time.
Jorge Sampaoli’s men have had a fine start to the campaign with just one defeat across all competitions. That defeat came in their previous fixture in Ligue 1 as they were beaten 3-2 by Lens last Sunday.
Despite the loss, Marseille will still be feeling confident heading into Thursday’s clash having won two of their last three home matches. They will also be boosted by the return of Dimitri Payet, who sat out the opening fixture and netted a brace against Lens.
Galatasaray edged out Lazio 1-0 in their opening Group E fixture in the Europa League. They rode their luck for much of the encounter and secured the win after goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha put through his own net.
It has not been a smooth start to the season for Galatasaray, although they claimed a 2-1 victory over Goztepe in a Turkish Super Lig fixture on Sunday. That win was only their second in seven matches with three defeats in that run.
Fatih Terim’s men have also been poor travellers this season and head to Marseille with no wins in their last four away matches.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have Marseille as favourites with a win for the French team priced at 14/19 by SBK. William Hill is offering 21/5 for a Galatasaray victory while a draw is set at odds of 33/10 by Vbet.
Head to head
This will be the first ever meeting between Marseille and Galatasaray.
Players to watch
Marseille tend to play better with Dimitri Payet in the team and the midfielder missed the opening fixture against Lokomotiv Moscow. He netted a brace last time out against Lens and could be worth a punt to score anytime at 15/8 with Paddy Power.
Much of Galatasaray’s goals have come from midfield with Emre Kilinc and Alexandru Cicaldau scoring twice each. Kilinc is priced at 5/1 by Sporting Index to score anytime while bet365 is offering 6/1 on Cicaldau in the same market.
Anything else catch the eye?
There have been over 3.5 goals in three of Marseille’s last four home matches and a repeat could be on the cards at 43/20 with Unibet. Over 2.5 goals can also be considered at 20/23 with MansionBet while SBK is offering 10/13 on both teams to score.
Marseille and Galatasaray often score more goals after the break so the second half can be tipped as the highest scoring half at 11/10 with betfair.
This UEFA Europa League match between Marseille and Galatasaray will be played on Sep 30, 2021 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Marseille vs Galatasaray prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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