It is a battle of the top two sides in Group A on Thursday night as Lille host section leaders Slovan Bratislava in the Europa Conference League at Decathlon Arena.
The hosts have battled through their first two matches in the group stage unbeaten, and the same can be said for Bratislava, who have won their first two games in the competition.
Match preview
© Reuters
Lille extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to four matches with a narrow 1-0 success against Brest in Ligue 1 following the season's second international break of the term, with Yusuf Yazici bagging a sixth-minute strike for the hosts, which proved to be the decisive moment of the match.
Les Dogues have enjoyed a productive start to the Ligue 1 term and currently sit fourth in the French top flight, only five points behind first-placed Monaco and just three points further back than current holders Paris Saint-Germain, who have endured an indifferent opening to the season.
It was a case of severe frustration during Lille's most recent Conference League game on October 5, when Paulo Fonseca took his side to face Faroe Islands minnows KI Klaksvik, and despite having over 70% of the possession on the night, the visitors were unable to breach the net of Jonathan Johansson.
The French outfit are second in Group A after collecting four points from their opening two group-stage matches, and supporters will be expecting the three-point gap to Klaksvik to widen further as the gameweeks progress.
© Reuters
Slovan Bratislava's winning run across all competitions extended their eight matches on Sunday afternoon with a hard-fought 2-1 victory away at Spartak Trnava in the Slovakian Super Liga, with Aleksandar Cavric and Lucas Lovat getting onto the scoresheet at Anton Malatinsky.
The Slovakian side's amazing stretch of form commenced with a 2-1 win over Klaksvik in the first game of their Conference League campaign, and Bratislava managed a one-goal success over Slovenia outfit Olimpija Ljubljana in their second match to give them the perfect start to their continental journey.
Vladimir Weiss's charges are currently sat in first place in the Group A standings having earned six points from their two contests, although back-to-back fixtures with French giants Lille over the next month threatens to knock them off top spot.
Bratislava are facing a club from France for only the third time in their history on Thursday, with the Slovakians squaring off twice with PSG during the 2011-12 Europa League group stage, in which the Parisians were undefeated.
Team News
© Reuters
Lille remain without the services of centre-back Tiago Djalo on Thursday night as the Portuguese continues his recovery from a cruciate ligament injury, meaning Alexsandro Ribeiro and Leny Yoro are set to start at the heart of the hosts' backline once again.
Canadian marksman Jonathan David has netted just twice in nine Ligue 1 appearances after firing in 24 league goals last term, although the striker will be confident of scoring his second Conference League goal of the season.
Slovan Bratislava are expected to name a similar team to the one which won in the Super Liga at the weekend, meaning goalscorer Lovat and Cesar Blackman will retain their wing-back roles.
Juraj Kucka is a key cog in the Bratislava engine room, and after the 36-year-old provided two assists against Trnava, the midfielder will be joined by Jaba Kankava and Tigran Barseghyan in the middle of the park.
Lille possible starting lineup:
Chevalier; Diakite, Yoro, Ribeiro, Ismaily; Andre, Bentaleb; Zhegrova, Yazici, Cavaleiro; David
Slovan Bratislava possible starting lineup:
Borjan; Blackman, Bajric, Kashia, Wimmer, Lovat; Barseghyan, Kucka, Kankava; Zmrhal, Cavric
We say: Lille 2-0 Slovan Bratislava
Lille will be in the mood to claim top spot in Group A after being forced to share the spoils in the Faroe Islands against Klaksvik last time out.
Bratislava are enjoying plenty of success in Slovakia and on the continent during the opening stages of the term, but we believe that their winning run will come to an end on Thursday night.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
