Olympique Marseille vs Ajax

Marseille and Ajax renew their European rivalry with another intriguing clash at the Stade Vélodrome, a fixture that has consistently delivered high drama and plenty of goals. The two sides have met eight times in European competition, producing a remarkable 34 goals at an average of over four per game. Both teams have scored in seven of those encounters, underlining the attacking nature of this matchup. Marseille’s European history with Ajax began on a difficult note, losing their first three meetings, including a heavy 3-0 defeat in the 1987-88 Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final. However, the French side have responded well since, going unbeaten across the last five games (W3 D2). Their most recent meeting came in the 2023-24 UEFA Europa League group stage, where Marseille edged a thrilling 4-3 contest in November. That campaign saw both sides drawn together, and their two group fixtures produced 13 goals, 64 total shots, and 33 attempts on target — the most in any group-stage pairing that season. At home, Marseille have generally fared well against Dutch opposition. They have lost just once in their last eight meetings at the Vélodrome against Eredivisie sides, that solitary defeat coming against Twente in the UEFA Cup back in 2008-09. Since then, they have gone unbeaten in four such fixtures (W3 D1), making the Vélodrome a difficult venue for Dutch teams. With such promising numbers, putting their 2-1 opening-day defeat to Real Madrid behind them shouldn't be too difficult for De Zerbi's side. However, recent Champions League form makes for worrying reading. Following the loss to ten-man Madrid, the French giants have now lost 19 of their last 22 fixtures in this competition, winning only three. Even more concerning is their defensive record — just one clean sheet across those games, a 2-0 victory over Sporting CP in October 2022. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is expected at the attacking end of Marseille’s 4—2—3—1 formation.

Ajax make their return on European turf following a 2-1 win over ten-man NAC on Saturday. Meanwhile, they look to call upon their proud European pedigree but have found recent visits to France challenging. Despite their reputation as a free-flowing attacking side, they have struggled to consistently contain Marseille, conceding seven goals across their last two meetings. Still, with 19 goals in this head-to-head overall, Ajax remain a significant threat going forward and putting their opening-day 2-0 loss to Inter aside will be the core objective of their visit to Marseille. A 4—3—3 with Wout Weghorst at the centre of the attacking trio is anticipated against Inter.