Our prediction for this Europa Conference League match:
A place in the Europa Conference League last 16 will be at stake when Qarabag and Olympique Marseille face each other at Azersun Arena on Thursday. Qaragab face an uphill task in the return leg as they need to overcome a two-goal deficit, but the hope dies last. Goalkeeper Shahrudin Mahammadaliyev continues to miss out with injury for the home team.
OM, on the other hand, proved their worth in the first leg, but they head into the match following a shocking 2-0 loss to Clermont. Anyhow, under 2.5 goals betting option should be considered as the visitors are likely to adopt a defence-minded approach in the second leg. Midfielder Valentin Rongier is back from suspension, whilst there are no fresh injury worries in the away team. Qarabag defenders should have experienced forward Dimitri Payet at bay.
Highlighted Player (Maksim Medvedev):
Maksim Medvedev is an Azerbaijan international who plays for Qarabag as a right-back. Born in Baku, back then Soviet Union, on September 29, 1989, Medvedev is a first-team regular at the Azerbaijan national football team.
He played an important role in the national team during the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, but he scored his first international goal in a 1-0 win over Norway on October 8, 2016. Speaking of his club career, Maksim Medvedev is a product of the Qarabag football academy, and he continued playing for the Azeri giants at senior level. His main position is right-back, but he is used as both right midfielder and centre-back as well.
Medvedev made his debut in the Champions League group stages in a 6-0 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on September 12, 2017. The 175-cm tall footballer wears the No. 5 jersey at Qarabag, and his preferred foot is right.
Highlighted Team (Marseille):
Olympique de Marseille are considered one of the best French football clubs. Les Olympiens won their ninth Ligue 1 title in 2010, but winning of the 1992/1993 Champions League trophy is seen as the club’s biggest success. Marseille defeated Italian giants Milan in the title game, with Basile Boli scoring the winner (1-0) in the Olympiastadion showdown.
It has to be noted, though, that the Stade Velodrome outfit were banned from defending the title in the 1993/1994 season after being involved in a match-fixing scandal. To make things even worse for the fans, the club suffered enforced relegation to the Ligue 2. Olympique de Marseille participated in the Europa League final on two occasions (1998/1999, 2003/2004), but they were beaten by Parma and Valencia respectively in the title games. OM’s home ground Stade Velodrome was opened on June 13, 1997 and the capacity of the stadium is 67.394.
The likes of Franck Ribery, Didier Deschamps, Didier Drogba, Laurent Blanc, Fabien Barthez, Samir Nasri, Fabrizio Ravanelli and Djibril Cisse all played for Marseille in the past.