Making the most of UEFA's new format, Feyenoord are into the knockout rounds of Europe's top club competition for the first time since 1985, having finished 19th in the inaugural league phase.

An eventful campaign was headlined by a shock 3-0 defeat of German giants Bayern Munich - and featured a dramatic 3-3 draw away to Manchester City - though the Dutch club also suffered a 6-1 thumping by Lille.

Brian Priske's side almost guaranteed entertainment across their eight fixtures, as only games played by Barcelona witnessed more goals; albeit, of the 24 teams to progress they conceded the most.

Home defeats by Bayer Leverkusen and Red Bull Salzburg also made it three losses from Feyenoord's last six European matches at De Kuip, after they had gone unbeaten throughout the previous 16.

Last term's Eredivisie runners-up have struggled without former boss Arne Slot this season, and current coach Priske was on the verge of being sacked before that brilliant win over Bayern.

Recently, they lost Der Klassieker to bitter rivals Ajax then were knocked out of the KNVB Beker by league leaders PSV Eindhoven, amid their worst domestic run for nine years.

Only Saturday's 3-0 derby victory against Sparta Rotterdam halted a frustrating four-match winless streak in the Eredivisie, and they have recorded just two clean sheets from their last 15 games.

Given such circumstances, at least history will be on their side when Milan come to town: Feyenoord have lost only one of 11 home meetings with teams from Italy - a 2-1 defeat to familiar foes Roma exactly a decade ago.

Followed by four unsuccessful attempts, Milan's last victory over opponents from the Netherlands came back in 2008 - but an overdue win on Wednesday would set them up perfectly for next week's return.

While they boast many years of European experience, the Italian heavyweights are into the knockout stages of UEFA's top tournament for just a second time in the past 11 seasons, having finished two points and six places better off than Feyenoord.

After recovering from back-to-back defeats, Milan beat mighty Real Madrid among others and actually held a cherished top-eight position heading into the final matchday; however defeat to Dinamo Zagreb saw them slip down the standings and miss out on automatic entry to the last 16.

Coach Sergio Conceicao - who lifted the Supercoppa Italiana within a week of his mid-season appointment - may come to rue that slip-up in Croatia, as his new club have a dismal away record in the Champions League's elimination phase.

Though they made it all the way to the 2023 semi-finals - ultimately exiting to city rivals Inter, who they could meet again in this year's competition - the Rossoneri have failed to win any of their last 11 away games in the knockout rounds, scoring just three goals in the last 10.

Furthermore, Conceicao was hired to motivate a talented but inconsistent squad: after finishing inside Serie A's top two for a third time in four seasons, this term they sit seventh.

On Saturday, goals from substitutes Rafael Leao and Santiago Gimenez - the latter of whom was making his league debut after signing from Feyenoord, and will now make a quick return to De Kuip - earned 10-man Milan a 2-0 win over Empoli.

Coming days after a 3-1 Coppa Italia quarter-final success against Roma, that was just their second clean sheet in 12 matches but will give Conceicao something to build on.

Feyenoord possible starting lineup:

Wellenreuther; Nieuwkoop, Beelen, Hancko, Hartman; Moder, Timber, Hwang; Hadj-Moussa, Ueda, Paixao

AC Milan possible starting lineup:

Maignan; Walker, Tomori, Pavlovic, Hernandez; Fofana, Reijnders; Pulisic, Felix, Leao; Gimenez