Marseille hasn’t had the best start to the season. The management has already changed the head coach, but with the arrival of Gennaro Gattuso, miracles have yet to happen. In their first match under the guidance of the Italian specialist, they suffered a defeat against Monaco (2-3). As a result, after seven rounds, the team occupies a modest 12th place in the Ligue 1 table. The obvious problem for Marseille lies in defense. In the domestic league, they conceded 11 goals in seven matches. Even a decent attacking line (nine goals scored) doesn’t save the situation. In the Europa League, Marseille played an extremely high-scoring match in the first round away against Ajax (3-3). They managed to come back from a 0-2 deficit, only to end with a 3-3 draw.
Brighton had a successful start in the Premier League but gradually lost momentum and lacks stability. The “Seagulls” had a three-game winning streak but suffered a heavy defeat against Aston Villa (1-6) in their last match. Currently, they are in sixth place in the Premier League. In other tournaments, Brighton hasn’t been successful so far. It seems that they lack squad depth, and Roberto De Zerbi is focusing on the Premier League. For instance, in the League Cup, the “Seagulls” lost to Chelsea (0-1) in the Round of 16. In the Europa League, they suffered a 2-3 home defeat to AEK in the first round. Just like today’s opponent, Brighton has defensive issues. The team relies on an attacking style of play. Periodically, this approach pays off fully, but sometimes there are clear failures, as seen in matches against AEK and Aston Villa.
