Red Star vs Lille – News and Probable Lineups

Red Star Belgrade will host Lille at Rajko Mitic Stadium in the capital of Sérvia on Thursday, with a place in the Europa League’s round of 16 to play for.

In the first leg of this knockout tie last week, the Sérvian team secured a 1-0 victory, providing them with a slight advantage as they head into this crucial fixture.

Match overview

Another solid defensive display puts Red Star on the verge of reaching the last 16 of the competition for the first time since 2022.

Excluding friendlies, Dejan Stankovic remains unbeaten during his second term managing the club, having won six consecutive competitive matches.

His squad has not let in a single goal in their last three fixtures across all tournaments, while scoring a total of 19 goals in six matches this month.

At home, they are undefeated in their last four games omitting friendlies, with no losses in Sérvia throughout the current Europa League campaign.

They have not lost a home match in this tournament this decade beyond the group stage, having defeated Rangers 2-1 in Belgrade in 2022, but they did exit that round of 16 tie 4-2 on aggregate.

Additionally, this team has yet to win a home game against French sides in Europe this century, with their only victory in this context occurring in 1998, when they defeated Metz (2-1) during the UEFA Cup.

Lille’s tough first leg last week has put them in a position where they must win to keep their chances alive of reaching the last 16 of this tournament for the first time since 2010.

Bruno Genesio’s team enters this match with a boost, having defeated Angers 1-0 in their Ligue 1 match over the weekend, marking their first away win of 2026.

A win on Thursday would break their three-match losing streak as away visitors in this competition, while also representing their first Europa League victory on the road since last October, when they won 1-0 against Roma.

Lille has experienced defeats in their last two knockout matches away from home in Europe since their 3-0 win at Sturm Graz in the first leg of a Conference League tie in 2024.

In this century, Lille has failed to progress from a knockout tie beyond the group stage when they lost the first match.

The last time they competed in a two-legged matchup in Sérvia, Les Dogues achieved a 2-0 win against Sloboda Uzice in the third round of the 2009 Europa League qualifying phase, progressing 4-0 on aggregate.

Team News

For this crucial match, Red Star will be missing Vladimir Lucic, who picked up another yellow card in their win last Thursday.

Franklin Tebo Uchenna netted the only goal in França, occurring during first-half stoppage time, while Matheus Magalhaes successfully kept a clean sheet by denying the only two shots on target he faced.

An injury to his calf may keep Alexsandro out for Lille this week, Thomas Meunier is dealing with a sore hamstring, Osame Sahraoui is questionable due to a groin issue, and Hamza Igamane will not participate due to a cruciate ligament tear.

Ethan Mbappe Lottin is also likely unavailable due to a leg injury, Ousmane Toure continues his recovery from a cruciate ligament injury, and Marc-Aurele Caillard is uncertain with an elbow issue.

Red Star Belgrade probable starting XI:

Matthew; Erakovic, Uchenna, Rodrigao; Seol, Handel, Krunic, Technician; Duarte, Katai; Six

Lille probable starting XI:

Author; Bouaddi, Mandi, Ngoy, Perraud; Bentaleb, Andre; Perrin, Harraldsson, Correia; Fernandez-Pardo

Despite not facing an overwhelming deficit, Lille has yet to demonstrate the firepower or the consistency needed away from home to convince us they can bounce back against a well-organized and in-form Red Star side.