Olympique de Marseille welcomes Brighton this Thursday for the 2nd day of the group stage of the Europa League (6:45 p.m.). Here is the expected line-up for the Marseille club.
After a spectacular and encouraging draw on the pitch of Ajax Amsterdam two weeks ago (3-3), Olympique de Marseille welcomes another big piece of its group, Brighton, for its second outing in the Europa League. A match that Gennaro Gattuso approaches with great determination, for his second appearance on the club bench.
“Reading the match is simple: it’s a team that always plays the same, with a lot of possession. If we had to give a title, it would be: “Courage and without fear”. If you press you have to be careful because they are very strong in the game. You have to play, don’t be shy. The players change but the philosophy always remains the same for this team“, launched the OM coach.
A fan of the 4-3-3 as he himself admitted, Gattuso retains this animation. But this scheme poses a problem for optimizing certain senior players, including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Alone at the forefront, the Gabonese seems to be struggling in the expression of his game, especially since he no longer has the same explosiveness as a few years ago.
Despite his scorer’s difficulties, Gennaro Gattuso is ready to give him another chance by lining him up in the starting eleven, and in a tactical configuration similar to that used in Monaco last Saturday (2-3).
Another much criticized player, Chancel Mbemba. The Gabonese is very far from the level displayed last season. Weighed down by his swings in concentration and his restart errors, the central defender would also have all the confidence of his coach, who starts him again. For the rest, other executives of the team will be eagerly awaited, from Lopez to Rongier, via Veretout or Clauss. On the other hand, Balerdi replaces Gigot in central defense, and Harit is preferred to Ounahi in midfield.
The composition of OM: Lopez – Clauss, Mbemba, Balerdi, Murillo – Harit, Rongier, Veretout – Ndiaye, Aubameyang, Correa.
