EUROPA LEAGUE BETTING PREVIEW - BAYER LEVERKUSEN VS OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE

Europa League

2026-11-05 - Bayer Leverkusen vs Olympique Marseille

A Sports Betting Preview by Niko

Bayer Leverkusen v Olympique Marseille
Football; UEFA Europa League: 4th Round
Bay Arena – Leverkusen, Germany
Thursday, 05th November 2026 - kickoff 21:00 CET

Bayer Leverkusen

Bayer Leverkusen need a response after a disappointing 2-4 home defeat to VfB Stuttgart last weekend. They were caught out by VfB Stuttgart's quick attacks and struggled to recover after falling two goals behind.

The hosts showed some fight, with Patrik Schick and Ibrahim Maza getting on the scoresheet, but the result ended their unbeaten home run this season. Before that defeat, Bayer Leverkusen won 5 home games in a row across competitions.

Bayer Leverkusen’s European form has been much better. Bayer Leverkusen have won all three of their Europa League matches, beating NK Celje 2-0, Lech Poznań 0-4 away and OFI Crete 0-2 away. They have scored eight goals without conceding, which is an excellent start to the competition.

Schick remains an important figure up front, while Malik Tillman and Ibrahim Maza have also made valuable contributions. Bayer Leverkusen will want to get back to winning ways quickly, and a return to the BayArena gives them a good opportunity to do so.

Olympique Marseille

Olympique Marseille arrive after a 2-0 home win over Toulouse. That was their fourth straight win in the French championship, so their form is good. They have been scoring regularly in Ligue 1, also beating Le Havre 4-3 and Angers 2-5 in recent weeks.

However, their European campaign has been far less convincing, with three defeats against Besiktas, Olympiacos and Sturm Graz leaving them at the bottom of the Europa League table.

Roberto De Zerbi's team have plenty of attacking quality. Mason Greenwood, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Amine Gouiri offer different options up front, while their ability to move the ball quickly can cause problems for opposing defences. However, they need to be more consistent, especially away from home.

Olympique Marseille cannot afford another poor European performance. Bayer Leverkusen have looked very strong in this competition, and the visitors will need to be much sharper defensively than they were in their recent domestic games. They can make this game interesting, but keeping the hosts quiet will be difficult.

The Betting Verdict

Bayer Leverkusen are the stronger side on paper and have been excellent in the Europa League. Their weekend defeat to VfB Stuttgart was disappointing, but I expect a much better home performance.

Olympique Marseille can cause problems going forward, although their European results give little reason for confidence.

I like Both Teams to Score at around 1.65. Bayer Leverkusen should create plenty of chances, but they have also shown some defensive weaknesses in recent Bundesliga matches.

The odds on the home win are a bit “thin” for my liking, so I'm going with goals in both nets here.

The Pick :

Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 Olympique Marseille

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take both teams to score: YES at odds of 1.65 with 12Play Sports