Marseille will travel to Benfica for the first leg in a Europa League quarterfinals matchup.
Benfica defeated the Glasgow Rangers 1–0 in the Round of 16. Rafa Silva scored the lone goal as his side advanced 3-2 on aggregate. Furthermore, Marcus Leonardo was subbed off in place of Casper Tengstedt up top at halftime.
Meanwhile, Marseille lost 3-1 to Villarreal in their second round of 16 matchup. However, they advanced 5-3 on aggregate. Jonathan Clauss scored the lone goal for his side in extra time. Pau Lopez started in goal and picked up a yellow card during the match.
But do you see Benfica being able to grab an edge in today’s game against Marseille?
Benfica vs. Marseille Preview
Benfica
Benfica placed third in Group D and their respective Champions League group play. Since playing in the UEFA Europa League, they have gone unbeaten. They have not always been able to click while moving forward. However, this is a side that remains strong in defense.
Anatoliy Trubin has started in four games and has 13 saves while allowing three goals. Furthermore, Angel Di Maria has scored three goals while in Europa League play. Finally, Silva is hoping to get on the score sheet again, as he has only scored the aforementioned goal to this point.
Marseille
Conversely, Marseille has played 10 matches in the Europa League tournament. Marseille has won five, drawn three times, and only lost two. They have scored 24 goals up to this point. However, they have been weak at defense at times and have allowed 16 conceded goals.
Lopez is letting in 1/3 of the total shots on target. He has 30 saves but has allowed 15 goals in his nine starts. Finally, Clauss has two goals and 10 games for Marseille. But he also has six assists to his name in the tournament so far. Jordan Veretout is someone to watch against Benfica, as he has scored three goals so far in Europa League play.
Benfica vs. Marseille Probable Starting Lineup
Benfica: Anatoliy Trubin (GK), Alexander Bah, Antonio Silva, Nicolas Otamendi, Fredrik Aursnes, João Neves, Florentino Luís, Rafa Silva, David Neres, Angel Di Maria, Arthur Cabral
Marseille: Pau Lopez (GK), Chancel Mbemba, Samuel Gigot, Leonardo Balerdi, Quentin Merlin, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Jordan Veretout, Amine Harit; Illiman Ndiaye, Luis Henrique, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Benfica vs. Marseille Head-To-Head
The two teams last faced each other twice in 2010 in a Europa League matchup. Benfica won the last encounter 2-1 away from home. Furthermore, the match before that ended in a 1-1 result. this resulted in the Portuguese side advancing on aggregate by a 3-2 margin. The French team hopes to see a different result this time around.
Benfica vs. Marseille Injury Report
Juan Bernat is unavailable for Benfica because of physical discomfort for the next few days. For Marseille Jonathan Clauss, he is unavailable with a hamstring injury until late April. Jean Onana, Valentin Rongier, Bilal Nadir, Bamo Neite, and Ismaila Sarr will also be unavailable for today against Benfica.
About the Author
Gabriel is a lifelong sports fan. Pick a sport, and he’ll enjoy talking about it with you! From football to soccer, combat sports, and volleyball! You can follow Gabriel on Twitter @BigTenGabriel to enjoy all of his great content. Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel, where we do several shows daily.
Check out all the great content Total Apex Sports has to offer. Check us out on X @TotalApexSports and our other sites: Total Apex Sports Bets and Total Apex Fantasy Sports.