Marseille and Atalanta will meet for the first time in a competitive fixture, with Les Olympiens winless in their last seven meetings with Italian opposition in European competition (D2 L5), since a 1-0 win at home to Internazionale in the 2011-12 UEFA Champions League round of 16.

Atalanta will face French opposition in European competition for just the fourth time, after taking four points from Lyon in the 2017-18 UEFA Europa League group stage (1-1 away, 1-0 home), before losing 2-1 to PSG in the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League quarter-final.

Marseille have reached the semi-finals of a major European competition for the second time in the last three seasons, having been eliminated by Feyenoord at this stage of the 2021-22 UEFA Europa Conference League; the French side have however progressed from all three of their previous appearances in the UEFA Cup/Europa League semi-finals (1998-99, 2003-04, 2017-18), with only Sevilla (7/7) holding a better 100% such record.

Atalanta have reached the semi-final stage of a major European competition for just the second time, following the 1987-88 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup where they were eliminated by Belgian side KV Mechelen after losing 2-1 both home and away. Marseille also exited the competition at that stage of the same season (vs. Ajax).

Marseille have won each of their last five home games in major European competition, their longest such run since March 1999 (6); meanwhile, Les Phocéens have won back-to-back European games at the Stade Vélodrome without conceding for the first time since December 2010 (excl. qualifiers).

Including their 3-0 demolition of Liverpool in the previous round, Atalanta have now only lost one of six opening legs to knockout ties when away from home in the UEFA Cup/Europa League (W2 D3), whilst the Italians are unbeaten in their last nine away matches in European competition (W5 D4), their best ever streak on the road.

Marseille’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the leading goalscorer in the UEFA Europa League this season with 10 goals, whilst teammates Amine Harit and Jonathan Clauss are the joint-leading assist providers with six each; Harit has assisted Aubameyang four times, the most of one player to another this season.  

Only Matej Kovar of Bayer Leverkusen (+4.3) has prevented more goals than Atalanta’s Juan Musso (+2.9 – 9.9 xGOT, 7 conceded) in the UEFA Europa League this season, when comparing expected goals on target conceded to actual goals conceded (excluding own goals).