Lille vs. Wolfsburg: UEFA Champions League probable line-ups, match stats and LIVE blog!

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Lille were unlikely French champions last season, ending Paris Saint-Germain's dominance in fairy-tale fashion. But title-winning coach Cristophe Galtier jumped ship to Nice in the summer and things haven't been easy in defence of that title. Defeat at Lorient this weekend means they have just five points from their first five league matches in 2020/21 and, as a result, lie 10th as of Saturday night. New coach Jocelyn Gourvennec will be be hoping former Bayern Munich man Renato Sanches can shake off injury in time to help his side get things back on track, while Alphonso Davies' international teammate Jonathan David will pose a threat in attack. Hoffenheim and Hamburg fans will remember Amadou Onana from his time at both clubs, with the Belgium U21 international also vying for a place in Lille's midfield.

Wolfsburg coach Mark van Bommel successfully managed to rest a number of key players as his side won a fourth successive Bundesliga match courtesy of victory over Greuther Fürth on Saturday. John Brooks, Kevin Mbabu and Jerome Roussillon were all given breaks in defence ahead of the trip to France. Those changes didn't knock the early league leaders off their stride as they collected all three points and maintained their perfect start to the season. Lukas Nmecha started alongside Weghorst in attack and both were on the scoresheet against Fürth, which may tempt Van Bommel into continuing to partner the pair, although Renato Steffen could return to the starting line-up in place of Nmecha given his overall work rate. One man that definitely misses out is Xaver Schlager, who recently became the latest Wolfsburg player to suffer a long-term knee injury.

Match stats

Wolfsburg are back in the Champions League for the first time since the 2015/16 season, when they made it to the quarter-finals before going out to eventual winners Real Madrid.

Weghorst was the Wolves' 25-goal top scorer last season, two of which came in Europe. The big Dutchman scored seven more than Lille's top scorer Burak Yilmaz, who won the French title with his side.

Wolfsburg have never been beaten by Lille. The teams met in the 2014/15 UEFA Europa League group stages, sharing a 1-1 draw before the Wolves won 3-0.

In Roussillon, Josuha Guilavogui and Maxence Lacroix, Wolfsburg have three French first-team regulars. Roussillon bagged a goal and an assist against Lille in a 3-0 win for Montpellier in November 2017.

Lille midfielder Sanches featured 53 times for Bayern before swapping Bavaria for northern France in 2019.

Lille forward David is at the vanguard of a perceived coming golden generation for Canada alongside good friend and nascent Bayern star Davies.

Probable line-ups

Lille: Grbic - Djalo, Fonte (c), Botman, Reinildo - Yazici, Andre, Xeka, Gomes - David, Yilmaz

Out: -

Doubtful: Bamba (thigh), Sanches (knee), Weah (thigh)

Coach: Jocelyn Gourvennec

Wolfsburg: Casteels (c) - Mbabu, Lacroix, Brooks, Roussillon - Guilavogui, Arnold - Baku, Philipp, Steffen - Weghorst

Out: Bialek (knee), Otavio (ankle), Schlager (knee), William (knee)

Doubtful: -

Coach: Mark van Bommel

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