The meeting between the third team of Ligue 1 and the representative of the Premier League in the group stage of the Europa League is certainly the jewel of the whole round of the second tournament of the continent. Not only the clubs are in the "group of death" with AEK and Ajax, but also the starting day of play in this quartet was simply crazy. The Provençals had already conceded two goals in Amsterdam by the 20th minute and did not look like a competitive team. However, by the end of the first half Marseille had already got back into the game, and in the second half they conceded again and got back into the game, finishing the match with a score of 3-3. Brighton's start to the Europa League was squeezed in between wins over Manchester United and Bournemouth in the Premier League, but was unsuccessful. In the home match against AEK Greece, the Seagulls had to come back twice from Joao Pedro's penalty kicks, but in the end Brighton failed to pick up even one point. In the 84th minute, Ponce scored the decisive goal for AEK - 3:2. Bookmakers considered the guests as favourites for the upcoming meeting, offering odds of 2.35 on their victory.

Brighton lost to Aston Villa on Saturday (1:6). At the same time, the club approached the trip to Birmingham as the third team of the Premier League this season. "Seagulls" demonstrate phenomenal performance, which now exceeds the indicators of all teams in the elite division, except for Newcastle. Having started the championship with two crushing 4-1 victories, Brighton topped the Premier League standings, but immediately received a "spanking" from West Ham in the form of a 1-3 defeat. After a reminder from the Hammers to play their best in every match, the Seagulls came to their senses and scored three convincing 3-1 victories. Among the defeated during this period were Newcastle and Manchester United. "Opleucha" this time received from Aston Villa. Logically, on the field of the Velodrome Stadium will be a completely different Brighton - brought to their senses by the Villans.

Marseille can and should be defeated in his home walls. The winless streak of the Provençals in the last week of September turned into a mini-series of defeats. Marseille's offenders were Monaco and PSG, who scored a total of seven goals. Let's bet that the visitors will play better than the hosts' international.