Marseille vs Basel Predictions

• Marseille have conceded just 25 goals in 27 Ligue 1 games this campaign.
• Basel have only won three of their last 10 matches in all competitions.
• The visitors posted group stage draws against relative minnows, Azerbaijani outfit Qarabag and Cyprus’ AC Omonia, in this competition.

Marseille set to contend for the Conference League title?

Having won the Champions League once and lost a further four major European finals,  Marseille have real continental pedigree, and Ligue 1’s third-placed outfit will consider themselves contenders for the maiden Europa Conference League crown after hammering Qarabag 6-1 on aggregate in the last round.

Marseille have not been flawless in their domestic division of late, with Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Monaco making it four wins in their last 10 in all competitions, and Jorge Sampaoli’s men have, unusually for a side managed by a Marcelo Bielsa disciple, seen under 3.5 goals scored in four consecutive games. Marseille’s 6-1 aggregate shellacking of Qarabag should, however, be considered an indicator of their quality relative to Thursday’s visitors Basel, who drew with the same opponents during the group stage.

Indeed, Basel struggled in draws against both Qarabag and AC Omonia before topping one of the competition’s most straightforward groups. The Swiss outfit are also in poor form, winning just three of their last 10 matches in all competitions and sitting third in their domestic league, after managing as many league draws (11) as wins.

Back hosts to establish a lead, and to keep it low-scoring

Marseille’s record of 25 goals conceded in 27 Ligue 1 games is the joint-third lowest tally in France’s top flight, and they also shut out Lazio and Galatasaray in a particularly tough Europa League group prior to Christmas, finishing third.

With that in mind, back Marseille to win a match containing under 3.5 goals, keeping a variety of scorelines in play while preserving some value in what could be a tense first leg.

A 2-0 win for Marseille, meanwhile, could be a decent correct score prediction.