Marseille - Villarreal CF predictions and free betting tips [07/03/2024]

On Thursday, 7th March, as part of the first 1/8 final match of the Europa League, "Marseille" will host "Villarreal". New "Marseille" manager Jean-Louis Gasset will look to extend his charges' winning streak to four games, while "submariners" have been undefeated in their last seven meetings in all competitions. 

Predicted Lineups

"Marseille": Pau Lopez; Mbemba, Meite, Balerdi; Clauss, Harit, Kondogbia, Ounahi, Merlin; Moumbagna, Aubameyang.
"Villarreal": Reina; Kiko Femenia, Mosquera, Jorge Cuenca, Alberto Moreno; Akhomach, Parejo, Capoue, Baena; Sorloth, Gerard Moreno.   

"Marseille" 

"Marseille" is undergoing a challenging season; in just a few months, the team has changed three head coaches: after Marcelino, Gattuso was recently sacked, having won only one match in 2024 (against Thionville in the French Cup). Now the team is led by Jean-Louis Gasset, and the 70-year-old French specialist got his first victory over Shakhtar Donetsk (3:1) in the return match of the 1/16 final of the Europa League. The white and blues made it to the tournament play-off, taking second place in their group and losing first place to Brighton.

The hosts show good results in European cups, but in the national championship, the situation is not so clear: the team is currently 7th overall and experiencing significant problems on the road: after 24 tours, "Marseille" has 9 victories and 6 losses. However, in March the white and blues confidently defeated "Montpellier" (4:1) and "Clermont" (1:5). "Marseille" welcomes back key defender Leonardo Balerdi, who was disqualified in the last round of the Europa League against Shakhtar.

"Villarreal"

Leaving the French club in September last year, Spanish coach Marcelino returned to the well-known "Villarreal". His main task in the "Yellow Submarine" was to get the team out of the crisis that began with Unai Emery's departure to Aston Villa. In the Europa League, the yellow and blues took first place in their quartet, surpassing Rennes, with four victories and one draw in six tours.

At the same time, guests are only 12th in the Primera table, and after 27 matches, they claimed victory only eight times, with 11 failures. Last weekend, the "Yellow Submarine" handled the crisis-stricken Granada easily (5:1), but the players themselves realise: the only chance to return to the European cups next season is to win the Europa League. Following Marcelino, former "Marseille" defender Eric Bailly recently moved to "Villarreal". 

Head-to-Head

"Marseille" never lost to the "submariners": a 2:1 victory in the friendly match in 2021 and a 1:1 draw in 2018.

Match Prediction "Marseille" vs. "Villarreal"

This season in the European cups, "Marseille" is completely different than in the championship. At home, in front of 62,000 supporters at the Velodrome, the hosts have every chance to claim victory against the crisis-stricken "Villarreal". The Yellow and Blues, of course, are buoyed by the appointment of Marcelino as head coach, but they are experiencing serious personnel problems. I predict a win for the hosts. 

Over/Under Prediction

"Marseille" is fully aware of the importance of the home game and will try to build an advantage ahead of the trip to Spain. I predict that the hosts will score over 1.5 goals. 

Corner Prediction

"Marseille" will definitely try to seize the initiative and attack more actively with their own supporters' encouragement. I confidently predict a win for the "port" team on corners. 

Yellow Cards Prediction

"Marseille" earns just 1.8 yellow cards per game, guests - 3.2 in the current Europa League draw. My prediction - the "Yellow Submarine" will win this component.

Score Prediction

I predict an exact score of 2:1 in favour of "Marseille".