Former European champions Marseille travel to Portugal for a crucial Europa League tie against Vitoria de Guimaraes next week, with a win for either side significantly enhancing their chances of qualifying from Group I. Despite the home side still searching for a first win of the competition to date, it could well be a close encounter.
Champions League – Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, Guimaraes – Thursday 2nd November – 21:05 UK Time
|
Draw Best Odd of: 12/5 at Ladbrokes |
|
Vitoria Guimaraes
Olympique MarseilleMatch Preview
Despite overcoming their Portuguese opponents on their own turf just a week ago, Marseille will be fully aware that at trip to Portugal will be a much tougher test. Rudi García’s men are one of the bigger names in the competition this season, with the French giants under pressure to make it through to the latter stages. Vitoria’s only other home European fixture this season ended in a draw with Salzburg, demonstrating that they are a difficult team to beat on home soil. With a number of appealing betting markets surrounding this fixture, be sure to check out our top tip. However, let’s first take a closer look at the two teams, starting with the Portuguese side.
Vitoria de Guimaraes Team News & Form
Vitoria come into this fixture off the back of an entertaining Portuguese Primeira Liga draw with Portimonense over the weekend, leaving them in sixth position in the table after nine matches. Despite a relatively good start to their domestic campaign, Vitoria have struggled in Europe, collecting just one point from their three encounters to date. Manager Miguel Cardoso does not have a star-studded selection of players to pick from, however a mixture of Portuguese and Brazilian talents helps to form a skilful line-up. Rafael Martins scored against Marseille in France last week, with the Brazilian striker likely to lead the line once again for the Portuguese side.
Marseille Team News & Form
Marseille warmed-up for this fixture with a competitive draw against French rivals PSG, while they take on Lille this coming weekend. Garcia’s men have won five of their ten domestic fixtures to date, leaving them fifth in the Ligue 1 standings. A defeat against Salzburg in Austria is the only blip in their European campaign so far however, with their playing squad amongst the best in the competition. French internationals Dimitri Payet, Florian Thauvin, Adil Rami and Patrice Evra could well feature for the visitors, while Greek striker Konstantinos Mitroglou could earn a recall given his excellent record in this competition over the years.
Head to Head
Before last week’s clash in France last week, where Marseille claimed a 2-1 victory thanks to a late Maxime Lopez goal, the two teams had never previously met in a competitive fixture. As a result, few conclusions can be made ahead of the reverse fixture.
Betting Odds and Predictions
Given the result between the two clubs last week, it perhaps comes as little surprise that it is Marseille who are the firm favourites for victory, despite being the away team in Portugal. The French club can be backed at appealing odds of 4/5 at Ladbrokes, while the home side are the major outsiders at 13/4 at Ladbrokes.
Top Betting Tip
Our top betting tip for the match is to bet on the Draw or Marseille market at Ladbrokes, which is currently available at odds of 2/9.