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Marseille and Atalanta BC, who are playing each other in a Europa League semi-final for the first time, will be looking to take a significant first-leg advantage. The match begins on Thursday.
Neither team can afford to lose at the storied Stade Velodrome, as they want to face either Roma or the newly crowned German champions Bayer Leverkusen.
With the ultimate goal of making it to the Europa League—or its predecessor, the UEFA Cup—final four times, Marseille has a long history in continental competition. After winning the title of European champions in 1993, they lost in the 1999, 2004 and 2018 championship games.
In the most dramatic of circumstances, the French giants advanced to this season's Europa League semifinals after being ousted by Feyenoord at this level of the 2021–22 Europa Conference League.
Before playing Benfica in the second leg of their quarterfinal, Jean-Louis Gasset's team had lost five straight games due to injuries and the need to substitute academy players. However, a 1-0 victory at home forced extra time, whereupon substitute Faris Moumbagna's late header kept OM in the game. After another thirty minutes of goalless play, OM won 4-2 on penalties.
Gasset took over as Marseille's third manager of the season shortly after AFCON hosts Ivory Coast fired him mid-tournament. Marcelino and Gennaro Gattuso had both been unable to keep up with the pace, and the veteran coach has been successful in bringing the team back to stability.
Despite their first victory in six Ligue 1 games on Sunday, the Mediterranean coast club is still in rough seas. Pape Gueye's late goal and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's opening-minute strike kept them in the running for European qualifying.
Naturally, qualifying for the new Champions League the next season would be made easier with a Europa League victory, but Atalanta stands in their way.
Gaining a first-leg lead is unquestionably crucial ahead of next week's trip to Bergamo, as they have struggled away from home despite winning their past five UEFA tournament games.
After defeating Empoli 2-0 on Sunday thanks to goals from Ademola Lookman in the second half and a penalty kick from Mario Pasalic, Atalanta had won 11 of their last 14 home games in all competitions.
In addition, Marseille has not lost in nine away games in Europe as they get ready for their spring trip to Provence. As if that wasn't reason enough for Marseille to be concerned before the second leg.
Stade Velodrome's fearsome history notwithstanding, La Dea's 3-0 victory against Liverpool at Anfield in the quarterfinals has already made Europe sit up and pay notice.
Following a difficult mid-season period, Atalanta has been improving since defeating Sporting CP in the round of 16. They have also secured a spot in the Coppa Italia final and are competing to qualify for the Champions League through Serie A.
With five games left, Gian Piero Gasperini's team is now ranked sixth. Additionally, Italy's top division has already secured five spots at the top table of Europe for the upcoming season, in part because Atalanta and Roma advanced to the Europa League semifinals and increased their national coefficient.
'Gasp' would undoubtedly regard leading La Dea in their first European final as his greatest accomplishment, despite all of his other successes. The Bergamo club's most notable feat to date is their Coppa Italia victory in 1963, and they are now only two wins away from a UEFA tournament semifinal.
They may even go to Dublin to play their local rivals Roma, who are also competing for fifth place in Serie A, and go on to become the first Italian team to win the Europa League title. However, before such hopes may come true, two difficult games against Marseille must be endured.
