Europa League preview and odds: Athletic Club de Bilbao vs Marseille

Published on: 22/02/2016

Europa League preview and odds: Athletic Club de Bilbao vs Marseille

February 25, 2016 18:00pm - San Mames

Europa League - Round of 32, Second leg

Athletic Club will start the second leg of this Europa League Round of 32 clash against Marseille with a 1-0 advantage thanks to Aritz Aduriz`s wonder strike in the first leg.

Athletic Club in strong position

Athletic Club will start this match in pole position having secured a 1-0 victory in the first leg. They will be further buoyed by the fact they have not lost a European game on home soil this term, having won four and drawn one of their previous five fixtures.

On a more negative note, Los Leones come into this match on the back of a 1-0 defeat to league rivals Real Sociedad in last weekend`s derby match. As a result, they have dropped to eighth place in the Spanish Primera Division table.

Marseille hoping to continue good away form in Europe

Marseilles won away from home twice in the groups stages of this competition and they will be hoping for another good performance on the road on Thursday night. However, the French side have yet to win a competitive European match on Spanish soil in five previous attempts (D1 L4).

Les Phocéens only win in their last five competitive matches came against French amateur side Trélissac in the Coupe de France. They currently occupy 11th place in the Ligue 1 table.

Team news

Athletic Club will be without Ibai, who is still recovering from an injury sustained in November.

Meanwhile,the visitors will be without the injured group of Zambo Anguissa, Benjamin Mendy, Dja Djedje and Lucas Campos.

Recent form (All competitions)

Athletic Club de Bilbao: LLDWW

Marseille: DDLWD

Betting odds and tips

The French side are strong defensively when playing away from home, and have scored in 14 out of their last 15 away games. Athletic Club have score in 17 out of their last 18 Europa League ties on home soil.

You can back Both Teams to Score at Evens with Bet365.

By Neil Morris

Published on: 22/02/2016

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (22/02/2016 18:22:20) but are subject to change.