Apollon Limassol vs Marseille Predictions

Apollon Limassol might not be a household name in the footballing world, but ever since their resurgence back in 2012 they have slowly made themselves regulars in the Europa League. This season is their fourth Europa League group stage campaign in the last six years, and while they are yet to make it past this hurdle, they do pose a tangible threat when at home.

They opened this new campaign, one which has them bottom of the pecking order behind Lazio, Marseille, and Eintracht Frankfurt, with an expected 2-1 defeat away to the Serie A club. However, it wasn’t straight forward for Lazio in that game, and the fight that Apollon showed will ignite some hope that they can claim some points from this difficult group.

The Cypriots overall form is looking promising too. They have won four of their last five games in all competitions, including a 1-0 defeat of Basel in the Europa League Playoff round back at the end of August. This home form is likely to be what they rely on if they are to harbour any hope of an unlikely qualification from the group.

Apollon have lost just one of their last 14 home games in the Europa League, and while many of the clubs in this run have been pretty poor on the quality front, they do have a few very respectable results to look back on. Their win over Basel this season was impressive, and they picked up a point against both Lyon and Atalanta last season. They have also beaten Aberdeen at home too, so Marseille will have to be very wary here.

The French visitors aren’t exactly setting the world alight this term either, despite making a run all the way to the Europa League final last year. They lost their Europa League opener 2-1 at home to Eintracht Frankfurt, and they have won just four of their nine competitive games so far this season.

Their away record in this competition is surprisingly poor as well, especially considering they reached the final last term. They won just one of their trips away in the Europa League last season, drawing with the likes of KV Oostende, Konyaspor, and Domzale and losing to Salzburg (twice), Vitoria Guimaraes, and Sporting Braga. Not exactly form that inspires confidence.

Despite this, Marseille are heavy favourites for this game. We think that’s a mistake, and backing an Apollon Limassol Win or Draw Double Chance looks a great bet here along with a 1-1 correct score predictions.