Winner of Atalanta vs Marseille Books Place in UEL Final
Atalanta vs Marseille Odds Favor La Dea
Atalanta Going for First European Final
It hasn’t been the best domestic campaign for Marseille but they do find themselves one win away from the Europa League Final. Marseille will head to Italy to take on Atalanta in the second leg of the UEL Semifinal after the first leg finished 1-1.
Atalanta, who have never reached a European Final, have had an excellent campaign. It’s no surprise that the Atalanta vs Marseille odds price La Dea as favorites for this match at the Gewiss Stadium. We’ll discuss the latest team news and odds ahead of Thursday’s match as the winner will advance to May 22nd’s UEL Final vs. Bayer Leverkusen or Roma.
Atalanta vs Marseille
Date, time:
Location: Gewiss Stadium, Bergamo, Italy
Atalanta vs Marseille Head-to-Head
Last week’s first leg of this Europa League Semifinal was the first-ever meeting on the Europa League schedule between Atalanta and Marseille. All the scoring happened in the first half and Atalanta struck first. Teun Koopmeiners found Gianluca Scamacca in the 11th minute to put La Dea ahead.
Marseille’s equalizer came from an unlikely source, as center back Chancel Mbemba hit a beautiful curling effort that hit the post and went in. The match finished 1-1 and the Atalanta vs Marseille odds priced a draw at +225. Marseille haven’t won any of their last seven matches vs. Italian teams.
Atalanta Take Big Step Toward Champions League
Atalanta have a short turnaround time between Monday’s match at Salernitana and Thursday’s game vs. Marseille. La Dea fell behind vs. Serie A’s last-placed team on Monday but managed to turn things around in the second half.
Ademola Lookman had a pair of excellent chances he squandered but Gianluca Scamacca got Atalanta’s equalizer in the 57th minute. Six minutes later, Teun Koopmeiners found the back of the net on a first time strike.
The win allowed Atalanta to move into fifth place, good enough for the Champions League in Serie A this season, ahead of AS Roma on goal difference. Atalanta have a game in hand on Roma as well. The two sides will play in a crucial Serie A match this Sunday. Scamacca has been on fire for Atalanta, with eight goals in his last eight games.
Gian Piero Gasperini, Atalanta’s coach, has them in line for UCL qualification and two finals, if they’re able to defeat Marseille. Currently, the Europa League odds price Atalanta at +300 to win the competition.
Atalanta will also take on Juventus next week in the Coppa Italia Final in what is a busy May for La Dea. Atalanta have averaged over two goals per game on their five game unbeaten streak. However, defenders Sead Kolasinac, Rafael Toloi and Emil Holm could all miss Thursday’s game.
Marseille Struggling on the Road in UEL
Jean Louis-Gasset’s short time in charge of Marseille has been rather bizarre thus far. After winning his first five games as Marseille coach, he proceeded to lose his next five. Now, OM are on a five game unbeaten run, in all competitions.
While Marseille are out of the running for a Champions League place through Ligue 1, they can still qualify by winning the Europa League. Plus, they’re also in the hunt for a Europa League spot with three games remaining in Ligue 1.
The French Football Federation gave Marseille a rest over the weekend, with their European commitments taking priority. OM have had to slog through the knockout stage just to reach the Semifinal.
After finishing in second place in the Group B Europa League standings, Marseille defeated Shakhtar Donetsk in the Play-off round. Then, Marseille took down Villarreal and Benfica in the Round of 16 and Quarter-Finals, respectively.
While Atalanta have lost just one game in this season’s Europa League, Marseille are 6-4-3. Notably, OM are 0-1-3 in their last four road matches in the competition.
While Bamo Meite and Valentin Rongier are out for this match, Gasset can field the same lineup he did last week if he wishes. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been OM’s most productive player this season. The Gabon international has scored 10 goals in the UEL, which leads the competition.
Atalanta vs Marseille Match Analysis & Odds
Atalanta come in as -250 favorites to qualify for their first Europa League Final. The Atalanta vs Marseille odds also list La Dea at -135 to win in 90 minutes. A draw (+280) would send this fixture into extra time and Marseille managed to beat Benfica in penalties in the Quarters. Bettors shouldn’t discount just how poor Marseille have been on the road this season.
In all competitions, they’ve compiled a 4-8-12 record away from the Velodrome. Still, they sit at +365 odds to grab a win in normal time and +200 odds to advance to their first Europa League Final since 2018. At the moment, Marseille +0.5, +1 shows -115 odds and Atalanta -0.5, -1 is at -115 as well.
Clean sheets have been rather rare for both teams recently. Marseille have conceded in nine of their last 10 games, in all competitions. Meanwhile, La Dea have conceded in eight of their last 10. Over 2.5 goals are priced at -120 odds here in what should be an exciting Semifinal.
