AEK Athens will host Marseille in the Europa League with the top spot in the group up for grabs. With a 3-1 victory over their opponents at the Orange Velodrome in October, the French team moved top. Just one point separates the two teams hoping to make the final 16.
Preview (AEK Athens vs. Marseille)
AEK Athens was determined to reclaim the top spot in the section and after two games. They led Group E thanks to an exciting 3-2 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion and a thrilling comeback 1-1 draw with Ajax. However, they were ultimately defeated by Les Olympiens. At the Orange Velodrome, Orbelin Pineda did manage to cancel out a Vitinha goal in the first half. However, just four minutes after AEK’s equalizer, Cankovic’s professional foul resulted in the goalkeeper’s dismissal from the game. Amine Harit then awarded the penalty, and Jordan Veretout added the icing on the cake.
Even with a worse goal differential, the 10 men from AEK still control their own destiny in the knockout round. They are currently ahead of Brighton due to their head-to-head point total. They will be watching Marseille closely if they succeed in exacting revenge this week. Despite having a mixed record in Europe, AEK Athens entered this weekend’s Greek Super League match against Kifisia looking for their fourth straight victory and a perfect record in the top division; they defeated Panaitolikos, Asteras Tripolis, and PAOK in similar fashion last month.
Nevertheless, despite taking the lead thanks to an own goal from Morgan Schneiderlin, Matias Almeyda’s team had to settle for a point in a 1-1 draw, and now they run the risk of going 14 games at home without a victory in the Europa League proper after losing eight and drawing five of their previous 13 second-tier matches in Athens. Marseille has scored eight goals in their first three Europa League games of 2023–24. They have also shared six goals with Ajax and drawn 2-2 with Brighton & Hove Albion. Marseille, on the other hand, has encountered some local difficulties lately. The former Champions League champions haven’t triumphed over opposing teams since April.
Team News
Georgios Athanasiadis will be Almeyda’s last line of defense this week as AEK Athens’ top player Stankovic serves a one-game ban for his red card on matchday three. Stankovic will be watching this game from the sidelines. If cautioned on Thursday, Djibril Sidibe and Nordin Amrabat might also face a Europa League ban. They should start regardless. Meanwhile, left-back Ahsan Hajsafi is still recovering from a muscle injury he sustained during the first half of last month’s loss to Ajax. Steven Zuber and Ezequiel Ponce are currently leading the assault. Captain and center-forward Sergio Araujo keeping Hajsafi company in the medical bay.
Although Leonardo Balerdi and Jonathan Clauss are both balancing on two yellow cards apiece, Marseille manager Gattuso does not have any players on the banned list for matchday four. As a result, they must exercise caution to avoid missing what might be a crucial match against Ajax. For the Group E match, Balerdi will ironically serve his Ligue 1 suspension, and as of right now, the only serious injury concern for the visitors is Azzedine Ounahi (thigh). Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has only scored one goal in Ligue 1 this season, was steadfastly defended by Gattuso during the goalless draw in Lille; however, the former Arsenal striker now faces the possibility of losing his spot to Vitinha.
AEK Athens 0 – 1 Marseille
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