Lokomotiv Moscow hosts Marseille in round 1 of the Europa League group stage. The match will be played on Thursday, September 16th at RZD Arena (Moscow)
Lokomotiv Moscow finished the previous season of the RPL in the third position. It guaranteed the Steam Locomotives a place in the group stage of the Europa League. The Muscovites had a bad start to the new season, losing to Zenit in the Russian Super Cup without any chances (0-3). But in the championship, Loko does not allow such misfires. In seven rounds, the Red-Greens have not suffered a single defeat. Scoring 15 points (four victories and three draws), Lokomotiv is in third place and lags two points behind leading Zenit. On September 11, Nikolic's footballers dealt with Krylia Sovetov from Samara (2-0). They achieved success thanks to the excellent performance of François Kamano in the 2nd half.
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Marseille qualified for the UEL group stage thanks to a victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the French Cup final. The Parisians, who had already guaranteed their place in the Champions League, gave a ticket to the Europa League to the Olympians, who finished in 5th place in the championship. In the new Ligue 1 draw, the Blue-and-Whites are seriously claiming to fight for a place in the TOP-3. Apart from the scandalously interrupted match against Nice, Sampaoli's charges scored points in each of their four games in Ligue 1. Marseille beat Montpellier (3-2), shared points with Bordeaux (2-2), coped with Saint-Etienne (3-1), and crushed the resistance of Monaco on 11 September (2-0).
Lokomotiv Moscow and Marseille will fight each other for the first time in history. The pre-match layouts indicate a slight advantage of Marseille, which has a more solid lineup. On the other hand, Lokomotiv proved that it could be dangerous at home if we look at the previous European Cup campaign. The Railwaymen lost to Bayern Munich only in the last minutes (1-2), and Atletico Madrid even lost points in Moscow (1-1). The statistics of Loko and Marseille in recent games hints that the opponents may exchange goals at the RZD Arena. After being defeated in the Russian Super Cup, Loko has scored in seven matches in a row, while the bet on an exchange of goals scored took place in six out of seven cases. Marseille has had the same outcome in three of four games in Ligue 1. The Olympians scored in all matches, except for the suspended game with Nice.
Prediction for the match: Both teams to score — yes
