AEK Athens will be looking to maintain their position at the top of Group B in the Europa League when they travel to the Stade Velodrome to face Marseille on Thursday.

The two teams are meeting for the first time since the last 16 of the European Cup in 1989-90 when Les Olympiens prevailed 3-1 on aggregate.

Match preview

Gennaro Gattuso is yet to make the desired impact in the Marseille hotseat since replacing Marcelino at the end of September, as he has recorded one win, one draw and two defeats from his first four games in charge across all competitions.

The Italian entered the international break on a high after steering Marseille to a comfortable 3-0 win over Le Harve in Ligue 1, but his side were brought back down to earth last weekend when they suffered a narrow 1-0 loss at Nice, with the 78th-minute dismissal of Leonardo Balerdi followed just a minute later by the game's only goal headed home by Evann Guessand.

Gattuso has become the first Marseille coach to lose two of his first three Ligue 1 games in charge of the club since Eric Gerets in October 2007, and Les Olympiens have subsequently slipped to eighth in the table, but they are only two points behind the European places.

Marseille return to Europa League action on Thursday having already picked up two points from score draws with Ajax and Brighton & Hove Albion in Group B, coming from two goals down to rescue a 3-3 draw with the former in matchday one before letting a two-goal lead slip to draw 2-2 with the latter three weeks ago.

Les Olympiens have only won three of their 13 competitive matches in all tournaments so far this season, but they will welcome Thursday's return to home soil where they are seeking to extend their unbeaten run to five matches.

Some may have predicted AEK Athens to be the whipping boys of Group B, but they have instead been one of the surprise packages in this year's Europa League, picking up four points from their first two group games.

After beating European debutants Brighton 3-2 in England on matchday one, the Yellow and Blacks climbed to the summit of Group B after salvaging a point in a 1-1 draw with Ajax three weeks ago, courtesy of a 74th-minute equaliser from Domagoj Vida.

Matias Almeyda's men have since won back-to-back Greek Super League matches either side of the international break, beating both Panathinaikos and Asteras Tripolis by 3-0 scorelines to help the reigning champions move into second place in the top-flight standings, three points behind leaders Olympiacos.

AEK Athens could move one step closer to booking their place in the Europa League knockout rounds for the very first time with a victory on Thursday, but success against Marseille could prove challenging as they have lost seven and drawn two of their previous nine away meetings with French opposition.

Competing in their 24th UEFA Cup/Europa League competition, the Yellow and Blacks are targeting another scalp in Group B as they endeavour to win back-to-back away matches in the same European campaign for the first time in their history in the competition.

Team News

Marseille are set to be without first-choice goalkeeper Pau Lopez and key right-back Jonathan Clauss who were both forced off with respective thigh and muscle injuries in the defeat at Nice, so Ruben Blanco and Amir Murillo are expected to deputise on Thursday.

Pape Gueye remains out as he continues to serve a FIFA-imposed suspension, while Joaquin Correa (unspecified) and Samuel Gigot (rib) are both doubtful and will be assessed ahead of kickoff.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has contributed with three goals and two assists in his last six appearances, is set to lead the line with Iliman Ndiaye and Ismaila Sarr providing support in attack, while Jordan Veretout will be pushing to start in midfield after recovering from injury to feature as a substitute last weekend.

As for AEK Athens, Tom van Weert, Alexander Callens and Zini all featured against Asteras Tripolis last weekend, but the trio, along with Stavros Pilios and Konstantinos Chrysopoulos, are ineligible to play on Thursday after being left out of the club's Europa League squad.

After being rested at the weekend, Djibril Sidibe is expected to be recalled at right-back at the expense of Lazaros Rota, while either Gerasimos Mitoglou or Harold Moukoudi could partner Domagoj Vida at centre-back.

Nordin Amrabat may return in midfield at the expense of Jens Jonsson, while wingers Steven Zuber and Niclas Eliasson could line up either side of central striker Sergio Araujo.

Marseille possible starting lineup:
Blanco; Murillo, Mbemba, Balerdi, Lodi; Veretout, Rongier, Harit; Ndiaye, Aubameyang, Sarr

AEK Athens possible starting lineup:
Stankovic; Sidibe, Vida, Mitoglou, Hajsafi; Szymanski, Amrabat; Eliasson, Mantalos, Zuber; Araujo

We say: Marseille 2-2 AEK Athens

With both Brighton and Ajax unable to claim maximum points in their Group B fixture, Marseille have the chance to climb to the top of the standings with a win on Thursday.

However, AEK Athens have made a notable impression in the group stage and we believe that the Greek outfit can claim a hard-earned point against an out-of-sorts Marseille side.

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