Very serious things are starting for Olympique de Marseille.
The last French representative in the Europa League, the Marseille club hosts Villarreal in the round of 16 first leg of the competition, Thursday at the Vélodrome.
A meeting which sounds like a spicy reunion between the Marseillais and their brief coach at the start of the season, Marcelino, now at the head of the Yellow Submarine.
Arriving during the summer to succeed Igor Tudor, the Spanish coach left Bouches-du-Rhône in September, after pressure from Marseille supporters demanding his departure.
Twelfth in Liga, Villarreal came out on top of their C3 group by winning against Rennes on the last day.
Several well-known faces from Ligue 1 play in its ranks (former PSG striker Gonçalo Guedes, or ex-Lyon player Bertrand Traoré), as do the French Francis Coquelin and Etienne Capoue.
The Marseillais, qualified after eliminating Shakhtar Donetsk in the play-offs, have been transformed since the arrival of Jean-Louis Gasset on their bench, and have just had three wins in a row.
They will travel to Spain on March 14 for the return leg.
The match between Olympique de Marseille and Villarreal kicks off at 9 p.m. this Thursday, March 7.
The match will be broadcast live on M6.