Europa League: Marseille vs Atalanta
At 3:00 a.m. Beijing time on May 3, 2024, in the first leg of the Europa League semifinals, Marseille will face Atalanta at home. Marseille is a strong team in Ligue 1, but the team's performance this season is obviously insufficient, after 31 rounds of league games, with 11 wins, 11 draws and 9 losses, ranking 7th in Ligue 1 with 44 points, and the European zone has a difference of 7 points, with only 3 rounds left in the league, the team may be difficult to qualify for next season's European competition through the league again. In the Europa League, the team successively Villarreal and Benfica successfully reached the semi-finals.
Marseille have been in form lately and are now unbeaten in four consecutive matches. The team played at home to Lens in the last round of the league, with 43% possession and 6 shots on target from 13 attempts, and won 2-1 thanks to goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Guyer. In addition, Marseille have been significantly better at home than on the road this season, with nine wins and six draws in 16 league home games, placing them third in Ligue 1 at home, while in European competitions, the team is unbeaten at home.
Atalanta is a Serie A powerhouse, this season's performance is decent, after 33 rounds of league games, achieved 17 wins, 6 draws and 10 losses, ranking 6th in Serie A with 57 points, currently in the Europa League qualification area, it is worth noting that the team is only 2 points away from Roma in front of them in the case of one less round, which shows that the team still has a chance to qualify for the Champions League next season. In the Europa League, the team eliminated Sporting Lisbon and Liverpool successively to qualify for the semi-finals.
Atalanta have been very strong lately, winning three games in a row. The team had 58 per cent possession and five of 17 shots on target at home to Empoli in the last league round, and continued their winning run with a 2-0 clean sheet thanks to Pasalic's penalty and Rockman's goal. In addition, Atalanta's away performance this season is relatively mediocre, with 6 wins, 4 draws and 7 defeats in 17 league away games, and its away team is ranked 8th in Serie A.
There is no previous head-to-head record between the two teams. In terms of recent results, Marseille's recent performance has been relatively stable, and it is impossible to do anything at the league end, and it is not ruled out that the strategic focus will be completely on the European stage, while Atalanta has been in extremely strong form recently, the team has won three consecutive wins, but it has league involvement and will face a two-front battle. Judging from the data, the performance is very ambiguous, combined with the strength and recent situation of both sides, it is difficult for Atalanta to take advantage of the first leg in this game.
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