An Amelie Mauresmo-led France stands in the way of the Czech Republic's bid for a fourth final appearance in five years, when the Fed Cup semi-finals take place at the weekend.
Captain Mauresmo commandeered a rare comeback in the Fed Cup World Group, as France came from 2-0 down to beat Italy 3-2 in the quarter-finals in February.
Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia combined to win the final three rubbers in Genoa, and Mauresmo said the pair - along with team-mates Alize Cornet and Pauline Parmentier - are preparing for a clash with the "unbelievable" Czechs in Ostrava.
"It was a great satisfaction to get that win over Italy and we are definitely looking forward to another really tough one in Czech Republic," said Mauresmo.
"We know that their team is unbelievable. Winner a few times in the last few years and obviously they have strong individual players - at least on paper stronger than us."
Petr Pala's side have won the team tournament in three of the past four years, including the 2014 version, and host the French looking to continue that imperious run.
They boast three of the top 13 players on the WTA Tour, including world number four Petra Kvitova, and will be tough to beat on the indoor hard courts at the Cez Arena.
The Czechs have a strong record in Ostrava, winning ties against Italy there in 2012 and '14 by 4-0 and 4-1 scorelines.
In the other semi-final, an under-strength Russia host Germany in Sochi.
Anastasia Myskina's Russia are without top-10 stars Maria Sharapova and Ekaterina Makarova, and will be headed by two-time major winner Svetlana Kuznetsova.
The Germans pack three top-20 players in Andrea Petkovic, Angelique Kerber and Sabine Lisicki, as they bid for back-to-back final appearances - and try to prolong their attempts to win their first trophy since 1992.
In World Group play-off ties, Italy host United States in Brindisi, Australia are on the road at Netherlands in 's-Hertogenbosch, Poland welcome Switzerland to Zielona Gora and Canada and Romania will do battle in Montreal.