Marseille will be aiming to overturn a narrow deficit when they host Panathinaikos in the second leg of their third qualifying round contest in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Panathinaikos will bring an advantage into the second leg of the clash, having recorded a 1-0 victory in Greece last week, with Bernard coming off the bench to win it late for Ivan Jovanovic’s side.
Marseille finished third in Ligue 1 last season to qualify for the Champions League third qualifying round, and they are bidding to make it back-to-back campaigns in the group stage of the competition, having competed alongside Tottenham Hotspur, Eintracht Frankfurt and Sporting Lisbon in Group D last term.
Les Olympiens were close to claiming what would have been a positive draw in the first leg, but Geoffrey Kondogbia’s red card in the 65th minute made it difficult for the visitors, and Panathinaikos managed to register in the latter stages of the contest.
Marseille will enter this match off the back of a positive result, though, having beaten Reims 2-1 in their Ligue 1 opener on Saturday, with Azzedine Ounahi and Vitinha on the scoresheet.
Marcelino’s side have been incredibly active during this summer’s transfer window, with Iliman Ndiaye, Ismaila Sarr, Renan Lodi, Kondogbia and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang among those to arrive.
The fact that Marseille played on Saturday could potentially help them in this match, although Panathinaikos will certainly be the fresher of the two teams heading into the second leg.
Indeed, the Greek outfit will not begin their domestic campaign until next weekend against Atromitos, which has allowed them to put their full focus on the Champions League this season.
Panathinaikos have already had to win one tie to advance to this round of the competition, as finishing second in the Super League Greece last term put them in the second qualifying round.
Jovanovic’s side beat Dnipro-1 3-1 in the first leg of their second qualifying round clash before drawing 2-2 in the second leg last week to advance to the next round with a 5-3 aggregate success.
The Greens have not competed in the group stage of the Champions League since the 2010-11 campaign, so it would be some achievement if they were able to navigate their way into the main competition.
Panathinaikos have managed to make six signings this summer, with Tonny Vilhena, Erik Palmer-Brown, Filip Djuricic, Filip Mladenovic, Zeca and Tin Jedvaj all arriving at the club.
Marseille will be without the services of Kondogbia, who was sent off in the second half of the first leg, so there will be a spot open in midfield, which is likely to be filled by Matteo Guendouzi.
Head coach Marcelino made changes for Saturday’s clash with Reims, but the likes of Sarr, Aubameyang and Jordan Veretout will be back into the side for this match.
Vitinha will have put himself in the thoughts of his manager with his goal in Ligue 1 last time out, but Aubameyang is expected to be joined by Ndiaye in the final third of the field.
Panathinaikos, meanwhile, have not reported any injury concerns from the first leg last week.
Due to the nature of the performance, head coach Jovanovic is unlikely to spring any surprises when it comes to his team selection, with Andraz Sporar again set to feature through the middle.
Bernard is an option to start following his goal off the bench in the first leg, while Laszlo Kleinheisler is also pushing to come into the XI, but both players could be among the substitutes once again.
Marseille possible starting lineup:
Lopez; Clauss, Gigot, Balerdi, Lodi; Sarr, Veretout, Guendouzi, Ounahi; Ndiaye, Aubameyang
Panathinaikos possible starting lineup:
Brignoli; Vagiannidis, Jedvaj, Magnusson, Juankar; Perez, Vilhena; Mancini, Duricic, Verbic; Sporar
We say: Marseille 2-0 Panathinaikos (Marseille win 2-1 on aggregate)
Marseille will fancy their chances of turning this tie around on home soil, and it is set to be a fascinating contest on Tuesday night. Panathinaikos deserve a lot of respect, but the French outfit have enough quality to overcome the one-goal deficit in order to progress to the playoff round.
