This is the fourth time these two teams have met, with Olympique Marseille having won all previous match-ups - and all three by the same 1-0 scoreline. Before this season's last-16 tie, the two sides met in the quarter-finals of the 2003/04 UEFA Cup. Marseille won both at home (Drogba scoring in the 46th minute) and in the return leg in Milan (Meriem in the 74th). Olympique Marseille reached the final in Gothenburg that year, where they lost to Valencia 2-0.

Inter have played French opposition (including Olympique Marseille) in European competition on 25 different occasions and won 11, while the French have come out on top in 7 and 7 have ended in draws. In a further 3 matches in the Coppa dell’Amicizia and Mundialito de Clubes the French have won 1, with the other two finishing all square. Inter are hosting a French side for the 13th time in European club competition and have a favourable record, with 6 victories, 3 draws and 3 defeats, along with 1 draw in the Coppa dell’Amicizia and 1 draw in the Mundialito de Clubes.

Marseille have played 17 competitive matches against Italian opposition (including Inter), with 7 French wins (including the 1-0 victory over AC Milan in the 1993 Champions League final in Munich), 5 draws and 5 Italian victories (including Parma’s 3-0 win in the 1999 UEFA Cup final in Moscow). Olympique Marseille have won just once in 7 matches on Italian soil, a 1-0 victory against Inter in the 2003/04 UEFA Cup. The other 6 have seen 4 1-1 draws and 2 defeats for Marseille.

Inter are just one victory away from their 200th in competitive international competitions. Their 199 wins to date are divided as follows: 81 in the European Cup/Champions League; 6 in the Cup Winners’ Cup; 89 in the European Fairs Cup/UEFA Cup; 5 in the Intercontinental Cup/Club World Cup; 1 in the Coppa delle Alpi; 1 in the Coppa Piano Rappan; 1 in the Anglo-Italian Cup; 11 in the Mitropa Cup and 4 in the Mundialito de Clubes. Inter's first win in the international arena - when the club was called Ambrosiana - dates back to 15 July 1930: Ujpest Dozsa 2-4 Inter, in the Mitropa Cup.

For the fourteenth time in an international competition Inter find themselves 1-0 down after the first leg, needing to come from behind and win at home to qualify in a two-legged knockout tie. They have so far succeeded in qualifying on 7 occasions and have gone out in the other 6. Those 7 turnarounds came against Independiente (1964 Intercontinental Cup, 2-0 in the return leg then 1-0 in the playoff in Madrid - goal difference wasn't considered over the two legs); Hertha Berlin (2-0 in the return leg, Fairs Cup 1969/70), AZ '67 (2-0 in the return leg, Cup Winners' Cup 1982/83), Trabzonspor (2-0 in the return leg, UEFA Cup 1983/84), Sportul (2-0 in the return leg, UEFA Cup 1984/85), Linzer ASK (4-0 in the return leg, UEFA Cup 1985/86), Ipswich Town (4-1 in the return leg, UEFA Cup 2001/02). The Nerazzurri's 6 exits came against Real Madrid (1-1 in the return leg, European Cup 1965/66), Admira Wacker (2-1 after extra time, UEFA Cup 1973/74), Malmo (1-1 in the return leg, European Cup 1989/90), Schalke 04 (1-0 to Inter after extra time but Nerazzurri beaten on penalties, UEFA Cup final 1996/97), Helsingborg (0-0 in the return leg, Champions League 2000/01), Olympique Marseille (0-1 in the return leg, UEFA Cup 2003/04).

Olympique Marseille will try for the sixth time in their history in European cup competitions to prevail in the return leg away from home after winning the first leg 1-0. Of their five previous attempts, Marseille have twice progressed and have been eliminated on three occasions. Both successes came in the 2003/04 UEFA Cup, first against Dnepr (0-0 in the return), then against Inter (1-0 win in the second leg). Marseille were eliminated by Union St Gilloise (4-2 in the return, Fairs Cup 1962/63), Juventus (3-0 away defeat in the 1972/73 European Cup), Mladà Boleslav (4-2 in away return leg, 2006/07 UEFA Cup).

Born in 1970, Portuguese referee Pedro Proenca has been an international referee since 2003. This is the third time Proenca has officiated Inter in competitive fixtures (always in the Champions League) and the Nerazzurri are so far unbeaten. They have won 1 (2-3 away to Bayern Munich in 2010/11) and drawn 1 (2-2 away to Twente, also in 2010/11). This is also the Portuguese ref's third time in charge of a match involving Olympique Marseille, who won both previous games with him: 3-0 at home to Spartak Moscow, in the 2007/08 UEFA Cup, and 1-0 away to Olympiakos Pireo, in the 2011/12 Champions League. Proença has officiated in competitive games involving Italian sides 5 times (including those with Inter). To date there have been 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 defeat. for Italian teams. He is overseeing a French side for the 7th time in competitive fixtures. They haven't lost yet: 5 wins and 1 draw.

starting lineups

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