OM passed not without being scared against Villarreal (4-0, 1-3), but they continue to tremble in anticipation of the draw for the quarter-finals of the Europa League, in Nyon, from 13 hours.
Qualified for the quarter-finals of the Europa League after a huge scare against Villarreal on Thursday, OM will know their opponent this Friday.
And the Marseillais risk falling on very heavy things.
Indeed, the seven potential opponents of Om would not be out of place in the competition at the level above, i.e. the Champions League: AC Milan, Benfica Lisbon, West Ham, Liverpool, Bayer Leverkusen, AS Roma, Atalanta Bergamo.
OM's potential opponents:
AC Milan (Ita)
Benfica Lisbon (Por)
West Ham (Eng)
Liverpool (Eng)
Leverkusen (Germany)
As Rome (Ita)
Atalanta Bergamo (Ita)
In theory, it is Atalanta Bergamo which appears to be the most favorable draw for Jean-Louis Gasset's team.
But this remains quite relative given that Atalanta, currently 4th in Serie A, is a regular top quartet in Calcio.
Furthermore, she can point to a recent surprise quarter-final of the Champions League, 2020 edition.
The English club West Ham is perhaps the 2nd best possible draw for OM.
Although the team of Brazilian Lucas Paqueta, the former Lyonnais, won the last edition of the Europa Conference League and is in a very honest 7th place in the Premier League.
In the Premier League, OM will pray to the good mother to avoid Liverpool in the draw.
Jurgen Klopp's Reds, 2nd in the English championship tied on points with Arsenal, constitute the worst threat to anyone.
But just behind Liverpool, AC Milan, Bayer Leverkusen, undefeated this season, AS Roma and Benfica Lisbon would be difficult opponents for the Phocaeans.
JONATHAN CLAUSS QUALIFIES MARSEILLE 🤩
The Marseillais were scared but they are in the quarter-finals 🔥#VillarrealOM #UEL pic.twitter.com/dqzot9cwlX
— CANAL+ Foot (@CanalplusFoot) March 14, 2024
The landscape is radically different in the Europa Conference League for Lille, for which this will be the first European quarter-final in its history.
After quietly defeating Sturm Graz on Thursday evening (3-0, 1-1), Lille bears comparison with any of the seven opponents still in the race: Fiorentina, Fenerbahçe, PAOK Salonika, Club Bruges, Aston Villa, Plzen, Olympiakos.
Also, the 2021 French champion can consider going further in the competition.
Lille's potential opponents:
Fiorentina (Ita)
Fenerbahce (Tur)
Paok Salonika (Gree)
Club Brugge (Bel)
Aston Villa (Eng)
Pilsen (Rtc)
Olympiakos (Greece)
At midday, the worst draw for Paulo Fonseca and his team would certainly be UnaĂŻ Emery's Aston Villa, currently 4th in the Premier League, who crushed Ajax Amsterdam 4-0 on Thursday evening.
The best draw would probably be Czech club Viktoria Plzen.