Monaco to join Lyon in 8th, Marseille to hang on
Faced with Real Sociedad, AS Monaco want to confirm their qualification for the round of 16 while Olympique de Marseille is still looking for its first success in Galatasaray
Monaco is aiming for victory on Thursday against Real Sociedad to reach the knockout stages of the Europa League like Lyon, already qualified before his trip to Brøndby, on the 5th day of a group stage which will see Marseille try to maintain the hope at Galatasaray.
The two “Olympics”, Lyon and Marseille, returned to Europe after leaving each other in confusion on Sunday: plastic bottle thrown by a spectator at OM leader Dimitri Payet, match stopped in stride and palaver between the two camps before the interruption, this time definitive, of the shock of Ligue 1.
The Marseillais face Galatasaray (leader of group E) and their boiling supporters without Payet, suspended, with the ambition to bring back a first European victory this season. After 4 draws in 4 games, Jorge Sampaoli’s team are penultimate with four points behind the Turks and one behind Lazio Rome, who travel to Lokomotiv Moscow.
If the first place offers a direct ticket to the knockout stages of the Europa League, the second is not eliminatory: it gives access to a round-trip play-off against a team classified third in the group in the Champions League. The third in C3 can, for his part, hope to be reversed in the Europa Conference League (C4), provided he wins play-offs against a team that finished second in the group in this new competition.
Monaco screw the head
Olympique Lyonnais, at the top of Group A after four victories in as many games, already have their qualification in their pockets before going to Denmark to challenge Brøndby. At the Red Lantern, the most prolific attack of C1 with 12 goals, half of which for the top scorer Karl Toko-Ekambi, will seek to continue his good series and further improve his statistics.
At Louis-II, AS Monaco want to win to ensure they finish first in group B their direct opponent, Real Sociedad. But the Basque club, runner-up to Real Madrid in La Liga, will arrive motivated in the principality: PSV Eindhoven, second with one point less, goes to Graz by betting on a misstep by the Monegasques.