Lazio and unpredictable Marseille battle to a draw

Marseille travel to the Stadio Olimpico to face Lazio on Thursday evening, with both teams looking to usurp Turkish giants Galatasaray at the top of Group E in the UEFA Europa League. The hosts deservedly beat Inter 3-1 at the weekend, but will be wary of the threats the visitors have in their ranks. Read our preview here:

Ya Bašić!

Brazilian centre back Luiz Felipe's last minute red card couldn't take the sheen off a superb win over last season's champions in Serie A for Maurizio Sarri's men, and he'll be keen to stress the need for a similarly high level of performance from the whole starting XI for the stern test l'OM will put them under. The displays of the trio in midfield particularly caught the eye, and deep lying playmaker Toma Bašić was key in maintaining their lead with his accurate balls forward. Their rivals in the pool are certain to pack the midfield and try to press I Biancocelesti. They have a full complement of players to choose from for the game, with Luis Alberto pushing for a place in the XI.

Nous avons Payet

Lorient felt the full force of the quick work from back to front by Jorge Sampaoli's charges at the weekend, being on the wrong end of a 4-1 scoreline. As ever, the chief architect was Dimitri Payet, and his importance to the setup cannot be understated. Marseille will bulk up the middle third with six individuals, throttling any attempts by Lazio to play through them. There is a chance his head coach could put him at the forefront of the attack, but if so, it's likely he'll come deep to receive the ball and release others.

Sarri-stall

Marseille have drawn both games thus far, so the need for a win against perhaps the strongest team in the mini-league becomes more urgent. Both sides had excellent results to prepare them for what should be one of the best spectacles in the competition this gameweek. bet365 have odds of 3.75 for a draw that will satisfy Lazio's ambitions.

Bet Draw on Bet365