Lille vs Aston Villa – News and Probable Lineups

Aston Villa heads to Northern France to take on Lille at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 matchup this Thursday evening.

This encounter marks the first meeting between the two sides since their thrilling Conference League quarter-final clash in April 2024, where the English club triumphed on penalties after a 3-3 aggregate score over the two legs.

Match overview

After reaching the semi-finals of the Conference League in 2024 and making it to the quarter-finals of the Champions League last season, Aston Villa is now in the knockout stages of the Europa League this year, having placed second in the 36-team League Phase, tied on points with the leaders, Lyon.

In their last 13 European fixtures, the Midlands side has netted two or more goals in nine games, including five victories in their seven League Phase matches this season, with their sole defeat occurring away at Go Ahead Eagles on matchday three in October.

Since a 3-2 home victory against Red Bull Salzburg at the end of January, Villa’s domestic form has dipped amid injuries to several key players, with only one win in their last seven contests (D2 L4). Most recently, they suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat at home to Chelsea in the Premier League last Wednesday.

The Europa League may provide a beneficial distraction for Villa and could offer an alternative pathway to next season’s Champions League, as their four-match winless streak in the Premier League has hindered their hopes of finishing in the top five, although they remain fourth, three points ahead of Liverpool, who sit in sixth.

Head coach Unai Emery is “dreaming” of guiding Villa to their first major trophy since 1996, while also aiming to secure his record-extending fifth Europa League title as a manager. The Spaniard has won 66 of his 102 matches in this competition across five different clubs and has never faced elimination in the last 16 in his previous seven campaigns.

In contrast to Villa, Lille had to enter the Europa League knockout round playoffs after a mixed League Phase campaign, recording four wins and four losses in their eight matches, which left them in 18th place in the standings, four points short of the automatic spots for the last 16.

Les Dogues overcame a first-leg deficit of one goal to defeat Red Star Belgrade 2-0 after extra time in the second leg played in Belgrade at the end of last month, progressing with a 2-1 aggregate score to reach the last 16 for the fourth time in five seasons of European competition.

Bruno Genesio’s team has now extended their unbeaten streak across all competitions to four matches (W3 D1), although they let a 93rd-minute goal slip to draw 1-1 with Lorient in Ligue 1 last weekend, placing them sixth in the French top tier and five points away from the top four with nine matches left to play.

This Thursday, Lille will return to Stade Pierre-Mauroy, where they have won three of their five Europa League home fixtures this season (L2), scoring at least two goals in each of those victories. However, they have only managed to triumph in two of their last eight home games across all competitions (D2 L4).

Against clubs from England, Lille has won only three out of their last 19 encounters (D5 L11), but one of those victories came against Aston Villa back in August 2002, when they won 2-0 at Villa Park in the second leg of an Intertoto Cup semi-final clash.

Team News

Lille is expected to be without Marc-Aurele Caillard (elbow), Osame Sahraoui (groin), Hamza Igamane (ACL), Ethan Mbappe Lottin (thigh) and Ousmane Toure (knee) due to injuries.

The goalkeeper Berke Ozer, centre-back duo Aissa Mandi and Nathan Ngoy, along with midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi are all one caution away from suspension, but all are anticipated to retain their spots in the starting lineup.

Former Southampton left-back Romain Perraud and ex-Tottenham midfielder Nabil Bentaleb are both anticipated to start, while the 39-year-old Olivier Giroud – a Europa League champion with Chelsea in 2018-19 – has recorded four out of his nine goals in Europe this season and is likely to lead the attack.

For Aston Villa, this fixture may come too early for John McGinn (knee), who is in the treatment room alongside Youri Tielemans (ankle), Boubacar Kamara (knee), and Andres Garcia (thigh). Matty Cash (calf) and Harvey Elliott (unspecified) will be assessed prior to kickoff.

Ross Barkley is ineligible as he was left out of the club’s Europa League squad, which means Amadou Onana and Douglas Luiz are expected to resume their partnership in central midfield, with Morgan Rogers likely to play in a more advanced role while aiming to end a five-game goalless streak.

Ollie Watkins is expected to start ahead of Tammy Abraham as the focal point of the attack, and Jadon Sancho may be recalled in place of either Leon Bailey or Emiliano Buendia to start on the right side.

Lille probable starting XI:

Ozer; Santos, Ngoy, Mandi, Perraud; Bentaleb, Andrew, Bouaddi; Haraldsson, Giroud, Strap

Aston Villa probable starting XI:

Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Maatsen; Luiz, Onana; Sancho, Rogers, Buendia; Watkins

Lille achieved victories against Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in the Champions League last season, so it would be unwise to dismiss the French side’s chances of pulling off an upset in this two-legged encounter against a struggling Aston Villa squad.

That said, we expect a response from Emery’s team, and they should possess enough quality to secure at least a draw, keeping the tie delicately poised ahead of the return leg at Villa Park next week.