Atalanta v Marseille: Prediction, Tips and Odds

It is all to play for heading into the second leg of the Europa League semi-final tie between Atalanta and Marseille at the Gewiss Stadium on Thursday.

The two teams played out a highly-competitive 1-1 draw in France last time out, with Marseille's Chancel Mbemba cancelling out Gianluca Scamacca's early opener for Atalanta.

La Dea will be hoping to make home advantage count during this return leg in Bergamo, as they bid to make it through to a first major European final, while Marseille are aiming to reach the Europa League showpiece for the first time since 2018.

Atalanta v Marseille betting tips and predictions

Atalanta to win and both teams to score - 13/5

This could end up being the greatest season in Atalanta's history, as not only are they bidding to reach a first European final, but they are also pushing for a top-four finish in Serie A and have the small matter of a Coppa Italia final against Juventus to come next midweek.

Gian Piero Gasperini continues to work wonders with the Bergamo club and he will be hopeful his in-form side can get the better of Marseille as they head into this contest unbeaten in five matches.

La Dea have been particularly strong at home over the second half of the season, winning 11 of their last 14 matches at the Gewiss Stadium, while their only defeat in Europe this season was the second leg of their quarter-final tie with Liverpool when they already held a sizable three-goal advantage.

By contrast, Marseille's away record leaves a lot to be desired, as no team has picked up fewer points on the road this season in Ligue 1, with their tally of 11 matching only bottom-of-the-table Clermont Foot.

That away record does not get much better for OM in Europe, as they have won only one of their six road fixtures to date in this season's Europa League and they have already lost at both Villarreal and Benfica in the knockout stages.

The good news for Jean-Louis Gasset's team is they did score in both of those losses and they can do so again against an Atalanta backline that is not exactly watertight, keeping just one clean sheet across their last seven matches in all competitions.

Goals for both teams should be on the agenda but, with home advantage, it is Atalanta that look best placed to reach the final in Dublin where they will face either Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen or domestic rivals Roma.

Over 3.5 goals - 2/1

Atalanta have averaged two-goals-per-game across their last eight matches in all competitions, while Liverpool are the only side to have stopped them scoring on home soil since the start of October.

Marseille are also regular scorers, netting in seven straight games, while OM's away matches in this season's Europa League have been particularly open, with three of their six road fixtures in the competition yielding at least four goals.

The French giants drew 3-3 at Ajax during the group stage, while their three away fixtures in the knockout rounds have seen them claim a 2-2 share of the spoils with Shakhtar Donetsk before losing 3-1 at Villarreal and going down 2-1 in Portugal against Benfica.

Only Liverpool and Leverkusen have scored more goals in the Europa League this season than Marseille's total of 27 and they can contribute to a match where the ball hits the back of the net on at least four occasions.

Leonardo Balerdi to be booked - 2/1

It is fair to say Marseille's Argentine defender Leonardo Balerdi is someone that likes to get stuck in, as his tally of 21 fouls is the most of any player in this season's Europa League.

That has led to the 25-year-old being cautioned a team-high four times in this season's competition, including during last week's first encounter with Atalanta.

With six yellow cards to his name in Ligue 1 this season, two of which came in the same match as he was sent off against Nice in October, expect Balerdi to be one of the names taken by referee Jesus Gil Manzano during Thursday's contest.

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Atalanta v Marseille odds

Atalanta - 7/10
Draw - 29/10
Marseille - 15/4

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.