Athletic v Marseille background
Victorious when these dual teams met in a 2015/16 turn of 32, Athletic Club have their work cut out to repeat a attainment in this season’s turn of 16 following their 3-1 first-leg improved during Marseille.
• Runners-up to Salzburg in a organisation stage, Marseille overcame Braga 3-1 on total in a turn of 32 interjection to a first-leg 3-0 win during home in that Valère Germain struck twice.
• Athletic, who surfaced Group J in a autumn, also laid a substructure for their turn of 32 success in a initial leg, winning 3-1 during Spartak Moskva with a integrate of goals from a competition’s heading scorer this deteriorate Aritz Aduriz, before losing a second leg 1-2 in Bilbao.
Previous meetings
• Marseille went brazen in a initial leg during a Stade Vélodrome after usually 44 seconds when Lucas Ocampos skilfully converted from tighten range. The Argentinian after finished a scoring after OM skipper Dimitri Payet had doubled his team’s lead with a extreme bombardment and Aduriz had reduced a necessity on a cadence of half-time from a chastisement spot.
• The clubs’ usually prior central encounters came in a 2015/16 turn of 32. Athletic won a initial leg 1-0 during a Stade Vélodrome with a fantastic Aduriz strike, sealing gift after a 1-1 pull in Bilbao.
• Athletic’s 4 home games opposite visitors from France have brought one win, dual draws and a defeat. The pull with Marseille dual years ago was a final such encounter.
• Marseille have never won in 6 visits to Spain, that pull in Bilbao finale a run of 4 consecutive defeats. In a midst of that method they were also degraded 2-0 by Valencia on neutral turf in a 2004 UEFA Cup final in Gothenburg.
Form guide
• Athletic’s final 10 European home games have yielded 8 wins, a exceptions a 1-0 improved by Zorya Luhansk in this season’s organisation theatre and their turn of 32 detriment opposite Spartak.
• They have won both of a prior UEFA Europa League turn of 16 matches staged in Bilbao – 2-1 opposite Manchester United in 2011/12 (5-3 on aggregate) and 1-0 opposite Valencia in 2015/16 (2-2 on aggregate, winning on divided goals).
• Seventh in Spain final term, Athletic are holding partial in European foe for a fourth consecutive deteriorate – their longest consecutive method given a mid-1980s. Losing finalists in a 1976/77 UEFA Cup (to Juventus) and a 2011/12 UEFA Europa League (to Atlético Madrid), they reached this season’s organisation theatre after overcoming Dinamo Bucureşti (1-1 away, 3-0 home) and Panathinaikos (3-2 away, 1-0 home) in a subordinate phase.
• Marseille are though an divided feat in 7 European encounters (D4 L3), scoring usually 3 goals over that duration though surrender usually six.
• UEFA Cup runners-up in 1998/99 and 2003/04, and quarter-finalists in 2008/09, Marseille are competing in a UEFA Europa League turn of 16 for a second time. They were degraded 3-2 on total by Benfica during this connection in 2009/10 (1-1 away, 1-2 home).
• Marseille finished fifth in final season’s Ligue 1 and entered a UEFA Europa League in a third subordinate round, where they degraded Belgium’s Oostende 4-2 on total before removing a improved of Slovenian side Domžale in a play-offs (4-1).
• Athletic have mislaid a initial leg divided in 22 UEFA foe ties and come behind to win 13 of them, including 7 of a final eight. However, on a one such arise when they succumbed 3-1 on a road, opposite Beveren in a second turn of a 1986/87 UEFA Cup, they went out notwithstanding winning 2-1 in Bilbao.
• Marseille have won 13 of a 19 UEFA foe ties in that they have claimed a home first-leg lead, many recently in this season’s turn of 32 opposite Braga. On a one prior arise they won a home initial leg 3-1, opposite Zenit in a 2007/08 UEFA Cup turn of 16, they mislaid a lapse 2-0 and were separated on divided goals.
Links and trivia
• Both Athletic and Marseille began this season’s UEFA Europa League in a third subordinate round.
• This will be Athletic’s 61st diversion in a UEFA Europa League, organisation theatre to final; usually Villarreal, with 62, have played more. Athletic’s all-time total of 99 goals scored is also usually bettered by Villarreal (104).
• Markel Susaeta became usually a second actor – after Daniel Carriço – to make 50 UEFA Europa League appearances, organisation theatre to final, when he skippered Athletic in a initial leg during a Stade Vélodrome. He is a initial to strech a half-century with a singular club.
• Athletic’s Raúl GarcÃa was a 2009/10 UEFA Europa League leader with Atlético Madrid.
• Aduriz top-scored in a 2015/16 UEFA Europa League, with 10 goals, and is a second-highest all-time marksman in a foe correct – after 30-goal Radamel Falcao – with 26. He has 8 goals in a stream campaign, creation him a heading scorer once again.
• Marseille were one of usually 3 clubs – alongside Lyon and Dortmund – to come by their turn of 32 tie after personification a initial leg during home.
• Adil Rami, a starter in all 13 of Marseille’s European encounters this term, won a 2015/16 UEFA Europa League with Sevilla, starting 7 matches including a final opposite Liverpool.
• Rami done over 100 Liga appearances for Valencia and Sevilla. He faced Athletic 6 times during his time in Spain, including twice for Sevilla in a 2015/16 UEFA Europa League quarter-final.
• Marseille’s Aymen Abdennour done 35 Liga appearances for Valencia between 2015 and 2017. He faced Athletic once, in a 2015/16 UEFA Europa League turn of 16 initial leg, losing 1-0.
• Marseille are one of 3 UEFA Champions League winners in a turn of 16 – together with AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund.
Penalty shoot-outs
• Athletic’s record in UEFA chastisement shoot-outs is W0 L2:
3-5 v CFR Cluj, 2005 UEFA Intertoto Cup second round
4-5 v Sevilla, 2015/16 UEFA Europa League quarter-final
• Marseille’s record in UEFA chastisement shoot-outs is W2 L1:
3-5 v Crvena zvezda, 1990/91 European Champion Clubs’ Cup final
4-1 v Germinal Beerschot, 2005/06 UEFA Cup initial round
7-6 v FC Twente, 2008/09 UEFA Cup turn of 32
The coaches
• Better famous as ‘Cuco’, José Ãngel Ziganda was a brazen for Osasuna and Athletic Club who also won dual caps for Spain and after guided a Pamplona side to a 2006/07 UEFA Cup semi-finals as coach. He was handed a Athletic pursuit in May 2017, as a deputy for Barcelona-bound Ernesto Valverde, following a six-year spell as a Basque club’s B group boss.
• Marseille manager given Oct 2016, Rudi Garcia started out as a midfielder during Lille, returning to lead a bar from 2008–13 and masterminding their Ligue 1/Coupe de France double delight in 2010/11. He subsequently spent 3 seasons in assign of Roma, heading a Giallorossi to back-to-back runners-up spots in Serie A.