Europa League: Brighton vs Marseille.
At 4:00 a.m. Beijing time on December 15, 2023, Group B of the Europa League group stage, Brighton will face Marseille at home. Brighton's performance this season has been mediocre, with seven wins, five draws and four defeats after 16 league games, ranking 8th in the Premier League with 26 points, just one point behind Manchester United. In the Europa League group stage, 5 rounds of matches have achieved 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss, ranking second in the group with 10 points, 6 points higher than AEK Athens, which shows that the team has qualified ahead of schedule, and this game is only the battle for the top spot in the group.
Brighton's recent form has been acceptable, unbeaten in two consecutive matches, and the team played at home to Burnley in the last round of the league, with 71% possession and 11 shots on target from 29 attempts, nearly five times as many shots on goal, but unfortunately they were the first to be cleared by their opponents, and then it was only through a goal from Adigra Simon that the decline was reversed, and the two sides ended up in a 1-1 draw. In terms of the lineup, seven players, including Westar, Welbeck, March, Enciso and Lamptey, are injured and will miss this game.
Marseille's performance this season has declined, and in the league, after the ** league, they have achieved 6 wins, 5 draws and 4 losses, ranking 6th in Ligue 1 with 23 points, and are currently squeezed out of the European zone. In the group stage of the Europa League, Marseille's performance is still relatively good, with an unbeaten record of 3 wins and 2 draws in 5 rounds, ranking first in Group B with 11 points, but it is worth noting that it is only 1 point ahead of Brighton behind them, and the top spot in the group is not in the bag.
Marseille have been in excellent form of late, winning four games in a row, including two clean sheets. The team played away to Lorient in the last round of the league, with 51% possession and 8 shots on target from 18 attempts, and continued the team's winning streak with a brace from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, plus goals from Mbemba and Ballerdi. In terms of lineup, Correa and Rongil are injured and may not be able to participate in this battle.
In terms of previous meetings between the two teams, Brighton drew 2-2 away at Marseille in the first leg. In terms of recent performances, Brighton's form has jumped a bit recently, and a number of players are injuredMarseille have been in very strong form recently, and the team can be said to have won consecutive games. Judging from the current attitude of all parties, the home team has been given obvious support, combined with the strength and recent situation of both sides, Brighton is still expected to win all three points in this game.