Lille will go head-to-head against Sevilla in the Champions League Group G action at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy. Both the teams are yet to register a win. Can Lille register their first win in the group stage and keep their campaign dreams alive?
Lille started their season with a goalless draw against Wolfsburg. They fell to a 2-1 defeat against Salzburg in their second game. They currently sit at the bottom of their group with one point. The Ligue 1 champions made a good start domestically but their three-game winning streak came to an end with a 1-0 defeat to newly-promoted Clermont. The French team will welcome Yilmaz after he comes back from serving a domestic suspension, Reinildo would be returning to the team as well. Centre-back Sven Botman sustained an injury on international duty while goalkeeper Leo Jardim will be out due to a neck problem.
In their previous game against Salzburg, the French team were unable to produce enough shots. They attempted eights shots with two of them being on target. They struggled to create enough chances. However, Burak Yilmaz scored a second-half consolation goal after they went two goals behind.
In terms of xG, Salzburg dominated the charts with an xG of 2.17 as compared to Lille’s 0.56. Both the teams failed to put enough shots on target however Karim Adeyemi netted the ball twice for his side. Lille have just lost once at home this season and will be looking forward to making most of their home advantage.
Sevilla are placed third in La Liga with five wins, two draws and one loss from their opening eight fixtures. Although they have started their campaign in the league brightly, Sevilla are without a win in their Champions League group. They drew 1-1 in their first group stage game against Salzburg before producing the same scoreline in their next game against Wolfsburg. Sevilla are placed second in the group after their two group stage fixtures. In their previous fixture in the Champions League against Wolfsburg, although Sevilla dominated the possession, they were unable to take advantage and fell behind in the 48th minute through a goal from Renato Steffen. They levelled the score via a penalty from Ivan Rakitic in the 87th minute. Sevilla will be looking to revive their Champions League form with a win on Wednesday. Joan Jordan is set to miss out on the clash while En-Nesyri’s availability is doubtful. Jules Kounde and Diego Carlos could make their return to Sevilla’s backline.
Although Sevilla had a higher xG than their opponents in the previous group stage fixture, they were trying to get back into the game for the majority of the second half. Sevilla’s xG of 1.27 surpassed that of their opponents’, 0,96. Both teams took an equal number of shots however Sevilla had more shots on target. Rakitic had the highest xG in the match.
Predicted XI
Lille (4-4-2) Ivo Grbic, Zeki Celik, Jose Fonte, Tiago Djalo, Reinaldo Mandava, Jonathan Ikone, Benjamin Andre, Xeka, Jonathan Bamba, Jonathan David, Burak Yilmaz.
Sevilla (4-3-3) Bono, Jesus Navas, Jules Kounde, Diego Carlos, Marcos Acuna, Thomas Delaney, Fernando, Ivan Rakitic, Lucas Ocampos, Rafa Mir, Suso.
Sevilla have been a better team so far, they should be able to grab their first win of the Champions League as they face Lille.
