These are reunions that we would probably have wanted to avoid, on one side or the other. Thursday, Olympique de Marseille host Villarreal in the round of 16 first leg of the Europa League. The opportunity for Marcelino to return to Marseille a few months after his hasty departure, which caused so much talk at the time. A difficult situation for him to manage from a mental point of view, but which nevertheless gives him a certain advantage in preparing for the match, since he knows the Marseille players very well.
But above all, Olympique de Marseille can be a little more worried now than at the time of the draw, since its future European rival has found a great level of form. It must be said that both teams are on fairly positive dynamics. Like OM, the team coached by Marcelino is regaining color and has won its last two championship matches. The last, against Granada this Sunday afternoon, with a heavy score of 5-1. A victory against a team playing to maintain certainly, but until now, the Groguets won these matches with great difficulty. And that’s when they won them…
The Marcelino paw is starting to take effect
The previous day, Villarreal had overcome a slightly stronger client, with a 3-1 success on the pitch of Real Sociedad, a team competing in the Champions League. If we go a little further, it’s been 7 days of the championship that Villarreal has not experienced defeat. Well helped by a Sorloth on fire – 4 goals in these 2 matches – Marcelino is turning this team around. First, by offering him a newfound defensive base. More intense and more compact, the team concedes far fewer chances than a few weeks ago.
Up front, it’s also more fluid, and the few winter reinforcements like Gonçalo Guedes, Yerson Mosquera or Bertrand Traoré (not registered on the UEFA list however) are already having an effect. This balance was the strength of Marcelino’s Villarreal at the time, and we are gradually finding this team very difficult to maneuver. “It’s a match (against OM, Editor’s note) like any other, all matches are the same. The team is on a good dynamic of play and results, the opponents create few chances, score few goals for us, we are happy. It will be a difficult match, but we are optimistic”, launched the Spanish coach after Sunday’s meeting. OM have been warned, they will have quite a client facing them on Thursday. And it is also the case in the opposite direction. Enough to imagine a thrilling clash between two teams in good shape, while all of Marseille is waiting for Marcelino with the knife between his teeth…
