Marseille vs Apollon Limassol Predictions

It’s been a disappointing Europa League campaign for Marseille, who’ve never really got going on the continent this time around. After five matches, the French side have just a single point and are thus out with a game to spare. Much of the same can be said for Apollon, who’re currently sit above Thursday’s opponents with four points to their name.

When the groups were drawn a few months ago, Marseille were expected to challenge alongside Lazio and Frankfurt, though the French side has fallen massively short of expectations. Five matches in and Les Phocéens remain without a win in this competition. They’ve found it tough to make their presence felt offensively, while they’ve given far too much away at the back.

The early market suggests that the hosts ought to win this match with considerable ease, though if we consider their recent form in this competition, it’s easy to disagree. What’s more, it’s not as if they’ve been in sparkling form domestically of late. Rudi Garcia’s men are now without a win in three in all competitions, while they come into this match off the back of a 3-2 defeat away at Nantes at the weekend.

Apollon have also disappointed in this competition, though they have accumulated three more points than their French counterparts,  they were certainly not outplayed in the reverse fixture. Facing Marseille at Orange Vélodrome could be that bit tougher but having already acquitted themselves well against this opponent, Thursday’s visitors won’t go into this match full of fear, that’s for sure.

When the teams met earlier in the campaign, they drew 2-2. On that occasion, both teams experienced joy in the final third, though neither overly menacing. If anything, it was the Cypriot side that did that little bit more, as the fact that they emerged with a +0.14 expected goals difference.

The fact that neither side has a chance of progressing is likely to mean that key players will be rested by both managers, while it also means that there could be a lack of intensity from both sets of players. Frankly, this is a match that both teams could do without.

At the prices, ‘Under 2.5 Goals’ stands out. When the teams met previously, they shared just six shots on target while there was a measly total of just 1.44 expected goals in the match. With neither side likely to care to much about this game, it would be no surprise if even less creativity was on show when the teams meet on Thursday night, so it’s easy to feel than the possibility of low-scoring game has been slightly underestimated by the early market.