Marseille vs RB Leipzig - Marseille players in no doubt over what lies ahead in UEL

Posted Thursday, April 12, 2018 by PA

Marseille’s players are in no doubt what they have to do as they try to advance past Red Bull Leipzig in the Europa League quarter-finals.

The French side welcome their German opponents to the Stade Velodrome on Thursday, trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg.

Timo Werner’s solitary goal gave Leipzig the advantage but OM’s men know their mission.

Bouna Sarr said on the club’s official Twitter account: “We must believe in ourselves and make sure to continue our journey in the @EuropaLeague. It is not over yet.

“First, we will see Thursday, we will make sure to qualify. We have to keep working, work hard and we can do it.”

Dimitri Payet added: “The fans are with us, they know the importance of our @EuropaLeague quarter-final on Thursday. We still have a big chance. There’s a semi-final at stake, I’m not worried, they’ll be there.”

Leipzig boss Ralph Hasenhuttl says he will send his side out to score an early goal, which could prove pivotal in the south of France.

He said on the club’s Twitter account: “The Stade Velodrome is a great stadium and there will be a fantastic atmosphere, but we’ve already shown how well we can perform in big venues. This will be another highlight for us.

“It will be a tough task to score against @OM_Officiel, but we have a lot of quality in our attack that can hurt anyone. That gives us confidence.

“We plan to set the tempo straight away and score an early goal. We want to start with the same courage we’ve shown in our previous #UEL games.”

Leipzig could be boosted by the fitness of Werner, who will play if he feels no pain in his thigh injury while Naby Keita will also feature.

Hasenhuttl added: “He’s recovered from his knock on Monday night well and is fully motivated to show what he can do once again in the #UEL. Naby is a quality player both on and off the ball.”