If the Stade Vélodrome occupancy rate were an indicator of the importance of the matches, Sunday's Championship match against Montpellier would surpass that of Thursday against the Greeks, a first leg quarter-final of C4 which should not attract more than 35,000 spectators .

But they were only 25,000 in the previous round against Basel and it is clear that with each round that passes and brings them closer to the final in Tirana, the Marseillais, players and supporters, get a little more caught up in the game of the very fresh Europa League Conference.

"No doubt that the public is more interested in Ligue 1 and there is also an economic question, it is not easy to come to the stadium twice a week," said Marseille coach Jorge Sampaoli on Wednesday.

Argentinian coach of Marseille Jorge Sampaoli encourages his team against Troyes, during their home match of the 15th day of Ligue 1, November 28, 2021 at the Stade Vélodrome Nicolas TUCAT AFP / Archives

"But I would like the Velodrome to be there too on Thursday because it's a very important match. And I know that if we pass, it will increase", also declared the Argentine technician, who all season recalled "the European history" of his club.

Without Milik

At the time of facing the Greeks of PAOK, OM are in any case doing very well.

The beginning of the crisis born of a sad series of two defeats (Clermont and Monaco) and a draw (Troyes) in the Championship was very quickly swept away by another series, of five victories in a row.

The joy of Marseille midfielder Amine Harit (c), congratulated by his teammates, after his goal scored against Brest, during the 28th day of Ligue 1, March 13, 2022 at the Stade Francis Le Blé celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the French L1 football match between Brest and Marseille (OM) at the Francis le Ble Stadium in Brest, western France, on March 13, 2022. Loic VENANCE AFP/Archives

Now stabilized and revived, Marseille wants to go the distance throughout an extremely dense month of April which, in addition to European meetings, will also see it move to the Parc des Princes to face Paris SG.

Less than two months from the end of the season, the sprint is therefore really launched and the Provençal club has two short-term objectives in mind, reaching the last four of the C4 and consolidating its second place in L1, still coveted by Rennes, Nice and now Strasbourg.

For this, OM can rely on an attack which finally seems to be running at full speed, despite the absence of Arkadiusz Milik, still too tight to rejoin the group.

The joy of Polish striker Arkadiusz Milik, after Marseille's 4-1 victory over Brest, during the 28th day of Ligue 1, March 13, 2022 at the Stade Francis Le Blé Loic VENANCE AFP / Archives

In their current winning streak, OM have scored 14 goals in five games, an efficiency that finally lives up to the way they dominate and control the game.

With 3000 Greeks

In return, the defense, deprived Thursday of Leonardo Balerdi (injured), Luan Peres (suspended) and Alvaro Gonzalez (on the sidelines), is a little more porous and the last game without a goal conceded dates back to the end of February and the victorious trip in Baku against Qarabag (3-0).

In total, OM still seems to have a little margin against the 2nd in the Greek Championship, even if Amine Harit assured Wednesday that "in the European Cup, there are no favorites".

"It's up to us to be focused and to play like in the last games where we were quite strong defensively while scoring a lot of goals. We're getting a little closer to the final and we mustn't take the opponent light," said the Moroccan, one of the most fit elements of the Marseille group.

PAOK is all the less to be overlooked as it has obtained the postponement of its league match this weekend, a sign that the priority of the Thessaloniki club, of which 3,000 fans should be present in Marseille, is indeed Europe.

PAOK Saloniki supporters cheer on their team during their Europa League match against Vidi on November 8, 2018 in Budapest ATTILA KISBENEDEK AFP/Archives

"PAOK fans are living this moment with immense enthusiasm, it's a huge dream. It gives us great motivation and a sense of responsibility," summed up Razvan Lucescu, the club's Romanian coach.

© 2022 AFP