Two teams within reach of a place in the top eight of the Europa League will square off on Thursday at Stade Pierre-Mauroy when Lille host Dinamo Zagreb for the first time.
Ahead of this matchday five contest Les Dogues are 19th in the League Phase, losing 1-0 to Red Star Belgrade earlier this month, putting them a point below the Croats who are 12th after being beaten 3-0 by Celta Vigo.
Match preview
What looked so comfortable for Lille early into the Europa League season has been anything but that in recent outings for the French side.
After winning their first two matches in this phase of the tournament, they find themselves on the verge of losing three successive group contests in Europe for the first time since the 2019-20 Champions League, but only two points back of an automatic spot in the last 16.
Bruno Genesio’s men are coming into this game on a positive note, defeating Paris FC 4-2 on Sunday in Ligue 1 action, ending a two-match losing run across all competitions in the process.
Since a 4-3 defeat versus PAOK on matchday three of this competition, Lille have won their last three home outings by a combined margin of 11-3, with all of those triumphs happening in Ligue 1.
On Thursday, they can avoid suffering successive Europa League defeats in Lille for the first time in the 21st century, incurring only two competitive losses at Stade Pierre-Mauroy since the start of this season.
In their four previous games against Croatian sides, Les Nordistes have never lost, boasting a 100% home record and conceding only once in those two affairs.
© Imago / HANZA MEDIA
Leaving it late has become a trademark of Dinamo Zagreb in this competition so far, but it has been enough to keep them in the knockout round for the time being.
Mario Kovacevic has seen his team score twice in second-half stoppage time, though there was no magic in their previous outing, as they conceded three times in the opening half.
All six of their goals conceded in the League Phase have come in the opening 45 minutes of play, while four of their seven goals scored came in the second half.
Dinamo Zagreb have points in their previous three European group outings away from home, drawing 1-1 with Malmo in Sweden on matchday three in late October, as they sit just one point out of the top-eight.
A loss on Thursday would mark the first time they will have suffered consecutive defeats in the group phase of this tournament since losing their matchday two, three and four encounters in 2023.
Purgeri will be seeking just their second victory on French soil in a European competition this week, with their first coming at Auxerre in a 1989 UEFA Cup qualifier (1-0).
Lille Europa League form:
Lille form (all competitions):
Dinamo Zagreb Europa League form:
Dinamo Zagreb form (all competitions):
Team News
© Imago / PsnewZ
Lille could be close to getting Alexsandro back from a leg injury, Ousmane Toure remains sidelined with a cruciate ligament tear, while Marc-Aurele Caillard is still recovering from an elbow problem.
Hamza Igamane is tied for the goalscoring lead in this competition with three, all of which have come at home, including a brace in their defeat versus Greek side PAOK on matchday three.
An ankle sprain will keep Moris Valincic on the Zagreb sidelines on Thursday, and Raul Torrente will not be available as he recovers from a cruciate ligament tear.
We saw two new faces in their starting 11 between matchday three and four with French defender Kevin Theophile-Catherine and Sandro Kulenovic replacing Valincic and Dion Drena Beljo.
Lille possible starting lineup:
Ozer; Santos, Mandi, Mbemba, Perraud; Bouaddi, Bentaleb; Broholm, Haraldsson, Correia; Igamane
Dinamo Zagreb possible starting lineup:
Nevistic; Pierre-Gabriel, Dominguez, McKenna, Goda; Zajc, Misic; Lisica, Ljubicic, Hoxha; Bakrar
We say: Lille 3-1 Dinamo Zagreb
For as well as they have fared so far, Dinamo Zagreb really struggle versus teams in the big five leagues, leaking plenty of goals, and that does not bode well against a side that can score in bunches like Lille.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
