Feyenoord will welcome Marseille to the Netherlands on Thursday for the first leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final tie.
The hosts got past Slavia Prague to reach the final four, while their visitors bested Greek outfit PAOK on their route to the semi-finals.
After cruising through their Europa Conference League group, finishing top with an unbeaten record and 14 points, Feyenoord progressed to the round of 16, and they continued their dominant run by thrashing Partizan 8-3 over two legs.
That booked a quarter-final tie with Slavia Prague, who they beat to a first-placed finish in the group, and a dramatic home leg ended 3-3 in Rotterdam.
Arne Slot’s side then made the difficult trip to the Czech capital, and a Cyriel Dessers brace and a Luis Sinisterra goal ensured they left with a 3-1 win on the night and progressed with an aggregate victory.
They now head into the semi-final on the back of a league victory over FC Utrecht on Sunday, as the game looked set to end goalless until Sinisterra popped up with a 96th-minute winner.
That saw the Stadionclub strengthen their position in the top three of the Eredivisie table, and, on top of their impressive showing in the Dutch top flight, they will aim to take a step closer to the Conference League final in their home leg.
They face a tough test, though, as Marseille also arrive in strong form and with their sights set on the final.
After a third-placed finish in their Europa League group, the French outfit dropped into the playoff round for Europe’s third competition, and they eased past Qarabag before beating Basel with a pair of 2-1 wins in the round of 16.
Jorge Sampaoli’s side then met Greek outfit PAOK in the quarter-finals, and they took a 2-1 lead into the away leg, thanks to goals from Gerson and Dimitri Payet, before the latter netted the only goal of the second game to book his side’s place in the final four.
Les Olympiens find themselves in an eye-catching run of form in league action, too, having now won 10 of their last 11 games both domestically and on the continent, with a narrow defeat to Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain being the only blemish on their record.
That came after the second-leg win in Greece, but Sampaoli’s men instantly bounced back, beating Nantes 3-2 before Gerson netted the only goal in a 1-0 win away at Reims at the weekend.
While they can no longer seal the French league title, Les Olympiens have enjoyed an impressive campaign at the top of the division and will aim to add to their campaign by reaching the inaugural Europa Conference League final.
Feyenoord Europa Conference League form:
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Feyenoord form (all competitions):
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Marseille Europa Conference League form:
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Marseille form (all competitions):
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We say: Feyenoord 2-2 Marseille
The two sides boast similar levels of quality, and, given the nature of a first-leg affair, we predict a tight contest with neither risking a heavy defeat but both posing the ability to punish their opponents.
We ultimately see a draw as the most likely outcome ahead of the second leg in France.