Basel are set to play Marseille at St. Jakob-Park on Thursday in the second leg of the Round of 16 of the UEFA Europa Conference League.
Basel come into this game on the back of a 2-0 win over nine-man Servette in the Swiss Super League. Second-half goals from young midfielder Liam Chipperfield and veteran Hungarian attacker Adam Szalai ensured victory for Guille Abascal's Basel. Servette had French right-back Moussa Diallo and former Arsenal and Manchester City left-back Gael Clichy sent off.
Marseille, on the other hand, beat Michel Der Zakarian's Brest 4-1 in Ligue 1. Goals from Brazilian midfielder Gerson, Polish striker Arkadiusz Milik, Morocco international Amine Harit and Turkish winger Cengiz Under sealed the deal for Jorge Sampaoli's Marseille. Attacker Irvin Cardona scored the consolation goal for Brest.
Basel vs Marseille Head-to-Head
Basel have faced Marseille in the UEFA Conference League once before. It was the reverse leg of this fixture, with Marseille beating Basel 2-1.
A brace from former Ajax striker Arkadiusz Milik secured the win for Marseille. Young Italian striker Sebastiano Esposito scored the consolation goal for Basel.
Basel form guide in the Swiss Super League: W-W-D-L-W
Marseille form guide in Ligue 1: W-L-D-L-W
Basel vs Marseille Team News
Basel
Basel manager Guille Abascal will be unable to call upon the services of left-back Raoul Petretta and Swiss left-back Andrea Padula. There are doubts over the availability of experienced defender Michael Lang and Ghanaian midfielder Emmanuel Essiam.
Injured: Andrea Padula, Raoul Petretta
Doubtful: Emmanuel Essiam, Michael Lang
Suspended: None
Marseille
Meanwhile, Marseille will be without West Ham United midfielder and star player Dimitri Payet, with the 34-year old suspended. Other than that there are no known issues and manager Jorge Sampaoli is expected to have a fully fit squad at his disposal.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Dimitri Payet
Basel vs Marseille Predicted XI
Basel Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Heinz Lindner, Tomas Tavares, Fabian Frei, Andy Pelmard, Noah Katterbach, Taulant Xhaka, Pajtim Kasami, Joelson Fernandes, Sebastiano Esposito, Darian Males, Fyodor Chalov
Marseille Predicted XI (4-3-3): Steve Mandanda, Alvaro Gonzalez, William Saliba, Duje Caleta-Car, Sead Kolasinac, Matteo Guendouzi, Boubacar Kamara, Amine Harit, Konrad De La Fuente, Arkadiusz Milik, Cedric Bakambu
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Basel vs Marseille Prediction
Basel are 2nd in the Swiss Super League, and have won three of their last five league games. Young Italian striker Sebastiano Esposito is highly rated, and he will be keen to build on his goalscoring performance in the first leg.
Marseille, on the other hand, are 2nd in Ligue 1, and have won two of their last five league games. The absence of playmaker Dimitri Payet could prove to be problematic.
Marseille for the win.
Prediction: Basel 0-1 Marseille