Brighton & Hove Albion and Marseille will battle for top spot in Group B of the Europa League when they lock horns at the American Express Stadium in their final group fixture on Thursday night.
The two teams have already qualified for the knockout rounds, but a victory for either side would guarantee their place in the last 16, consigning the other club to the playoff round.
Match preview
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Brighton were well aware of the challenges facing them ahead of their first-ever European group-stage campaign with French giants Marseille, Dutch titans Ajax and Greek champions AEK Athens, but they have successfully punched their ticked to the knockout rounds with a game to spare.
After failing to win their first two Group B games, the Seagulls have since won each of their last three without conceding a goal, with back-to-back 2-0 victories over Ajax followed by a slender 1-0 away triumph over AEK Athens on matchday five a fortnight ago, thanks to a Joao Pedro penalty.
Roberto De Zerbi's men are guaranteed a top-two finish in Group B, but in order to secure immediate progression to the last 16 and avoid entering the playoff round, the Seagulls must come out on top against Marseille, who currently sit one point clear at the summit.
Since beating AEK Athens, Brighton have experienced a mixed run of results on the domestic front, as they have lost, won and drawn once game each in their last three Premier League fixtures, playing out an underwhelming 1-1 draw with Burnley on home soil last weekend.
Brighton put up a fight against Marseille in the reverse fixture three months ago as they came from two goals down to draw 2-2 in France on matchday one, and the Seagulls who are unbeaten in their last seven games on home soil, will be as motivated as ever to come out on top this time around.
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After crashing out at the group stage in each of their last three European campaigns, Marseille secured their spot in the Europa League knockout round this term after accumulating 11 points from their first five Group B matches.
Les Gones preserved their unbeaten run in the group stage and claimed their third consecutive win in the process when they beat Ajax 4-3 in a thrilling contest on home soil on matchday five, a game in which Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang secured the victory by completing his hat-trick with a 93rd-minute penalty.
Gennaro Gattuso's men, who have lost just one of their last nine matches across all tournaments, simply need to avoid defeat in their final group game at Brighton on Thursday to finish top of Group B and advance straight through to the last 16.
Marseille's win over Ajax began a four-match winning sequence including three successive Ligue 1 victories over Rennes, Lyon and Lorient, beating the latter 4-2 away from home last weekend to climb to sixth in the table as well as move to within four points of the top four.
Success at Brighton is not a given for Les Gones, though, as they have only won one of their last 14 European away games in England – a 1-0 triumph against Liverpool at Anfield in October 2007.
Team News
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Brighton's lengthy injury list includes Solly March, Julio Enciso (both knee), Pervis Estupinan, Danny Welbeck (both muscle), Ansu Fati, Tariq Lamptey (both hamstring) and Adam Webster (knock).
Joel Veltman missed last weekend's draw with Burnley for personal reasons, but the Dutchman is expected to be recalled a right-back, while Jan Paul van Hecke or Igor Julio is set to start alongside Lewis Dunk at centre-back as either James Milner or Jack Hinshelwood operates at left-back.
Billy Gilmour and Kaoru Mitoma will be pushing to return to the first XI after beginning as substitutes against Burnley, while Joao Pedro – who has scored five goals in as many Europa League games this season – could start ahead of or alongside Evan Ferguson in attack.
As for Marseille, Joaquin Correa and Valentin Rongier are both ruled out with respective ankle and knee injuries, while Geoffrey Kondogbia is doubtful with an unspecified issue.
Jonathan Clauss was sent off in the Ligue 1 win over Lorient last weekend, but he is available for selection in the Europa League and will likely start at right-back as Gattuso reverts to a four-man defence including Renan Lodi, Samuel Gigot and Chancel Mbemba, the latter of whom has scored in three of his last six appearances.
In-form striker Aubameyang, who has scored seven goals and registered three assists across his last four games in all competitions, is expected to lead the line, and he needs to score at least once on Thursday to become just the second player in Europa League history to reach the 30-goal mark in the competition after Radamel Falcao (30).
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Steele; Veltman, Dunk, Igor, Hinshelwood; Gross, Gilmour; Adingra, Pedro, Mitoma; Ferguson
Marseille possible starting lineup:
Lopez; Clauss, Gigot, Mbemba, Lodi; Sarr, Veretout, Ounahi, Harit; Ndiaye, Aubameyang
We say: Brighton & Hove Albion 2-3 Marseille
Both teams will be keen to end the group stage on a high by securing top spot with a win to progress straight through to the last 16, but they will be aware of the attacking threats each side will likely pose in this intriguing contest, so they must be on top of their game to achieve success on the South coast.
Plenty of goalmouth action is set to be instore, but considering Brighton's injury list and leaky backline, we believe that an Aubameyang-inspired Marseille outfit will come out on top in a thriller.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
