After a 3-1 loss Athletic Bilbao is now hosting Olympique Marseille in the return leg of the Round of 16 UEFA Europa League. In the first leg, the Spanish team couldn’t control the French and thus handed, with a 3-1 defeat. Marseille comes to this match with a decent lead and advantage over the hosts. The Spanish team would try to dominate the game from the start and would have to score two goals without conceding one to qualify for the quarter finals of UEFA Europa League. The preview of this game is listed below.
When and where –
This match is to be played at San Mames Stadium, Biscay, Spain. The ground has a capacity of 49,164 and it is going to be a comfortable day in Bilbao which would only add to the excitement of this game. The clash will take place at 11:30 PM (IST) on March 15, 2018 and this match will be available to watch in Sony LIV app.
Olympique Marseille won – 1
Athletic Bilbao won – 1
Not Decided – 1
Olympique Marseille:
As Kostas Mitroglu and Gregory Sertic are injured and would not take part in this return leg of this fixture, Marseille’s manager has not much option left to do anything with the squad. Lucas Ocampos and Jordan Amavi are free from being suspended as they avoided picking up a booking in the first leg of this fixture.
Athletic Bilbao:
Aritz Aduriz scored the only goal for his team in the first leg and he has to set the course for his team if they are to qualify for the next round. Raul Garcia and Mikel San Jose are ruled out for this leg because of bookings. Xabier Etxeita is however, available to play this match. Inigo Martinez is ineligible to for selection in this game so are Iker Munain and Mikel Rico because of their injuries.
Marseille – Mandanda (GK), Sakai, Rami, Rolando, Amavi, Gustavo, Lopez, Thauvin, Payet, Ocampos, Germain
Athletic Bilbao – Herrerin (GK), Balenziaga, Etxeita, Alvarez, Marcos, Iturraspe, Etxebarria, Susaeta, Vesga, Williams, Aduriz
Our bet is on the away team for this game because they are leading the first leg of this fixture and is also expected that in this game as well they would only like to secure their line of defense anyhow so that the home team cannot get past them.
Disclaimer-
THIS MAR VS ATH MATCH PREVIEW IS BASED ON OUR RESEARCH AND UNDERSTANDING FROM VARIOUS NEWS SOURCES. YOU CAN SELECT YOUR OWN PLAYING 11 ON THE BASIS OF TEAM NEWS.