Red Star Belgrade
- Red Star Belgrade have beaten Lille twice in this season’s UEFA Europa League, 1 - 0 at home in the group stage and 1 - 0 away in the first leg of this knock-out round play-off.
- Vladan Milojević’s Red Star Belgrade have been solid and systematic in all of their European games to date and look ready to make home advantage count when Lille visit for the second leg of this Europa League play-off.
- Red Star sit atop the Serbian SuperLiga, and their talisman striker Marko Arnautović - who scored the decisive penalty in the 1-0 group-stage win over Lille - has been key.
- The Belgraders are a typically pragmatic 4-2-3-1 side who like to set up in a mid/low midfield block, absorb pressure and then hit teams on the counter-attack or from set-pieces.
- Arnautović is the talisman and targetman up front, but Aleksandar Katai is the creative engine of the team and has slotted home some big goals when the home fans needed him to in late-game scenarios.
Lille
- Bruno Génésio’s OSC Lille play with a lot more possession and a higher line than Red Star, so the tactics of the two sides should set up an interesting chess match on Thursday.
- Lille’s 4-2-3-1 formation is set up to play a high-pressing game with structured build-up play and wide rotation to create numerical superiority in the attacking third.
- Hamza Igamane is the club’s leading scorer in the Europa League and most dangerous attacker, but Lille lack a top-class finisher up front and have had to rely on Hákon Arnar Haraldsson to be their chief creator and link-up man from deep.
- Defensive lapses have been costly in some of their big games, such as the 1-0 defeat to Red Star in the opening fixture of this play-off tie and the 1-4 hammering that they took from Strasbourg in Ligue 1 last weekend.
Head-to-Head
- There is a 1 - 0 overall lead to protect for Red Star.
- Red Star are yet to concede against Lille this season.
Key Players
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Red Star Belgrade:
- Marko Arnautović is the talisman and targetman up front.
- Aleksandar Katai is the creative engine of the team and has slotted home some big goals in late-game scenarios.
- Goalkeeper Matheus and centre-back Franklin Tebo have been rock-solid at the heart of the defence.
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Lille:
- Hamza Igamane is the club’s leading scorer in the Europa League and most dangerous attacker.
- Hákon Arnar Haraldsson has been their chief creator and link-up man from deep.
- Berke Özer, Mbemba and Aïssa Mandi have been involved in defensive rotation.
Betting Insights
- Both Teams To Score looks good at 1.65.
- Under 2.5 Goals looks like a better option at 1.95 given Red Star’s pragmatic style.
- The Delije ultras will turn up the atmosphere in the stadium and make it even hotter for Lille.
- With the away goals rule gone, any aggregate tie after 90 minutes leads to extra time.
Prediction
- Expect a tight, cagey affair at the Rajko Mitić Stadium.
- We will take the hosts to edge this match and advance to the round of 16 of the Europa League.
