Preview: Slovan Bratislava vs. Lille - prediction, team news, lineups

Lille moved top of Group A by beating the Slovakian champions 2-1 at Stade Pierre-Mauroy two weeks ago.

Match preview

However, Slovan Bratislava remain in a strong position to advance to the knockout stages of the Europa Conference League, having lost to Basel on penalties in the round-of-16 last season.

Vladimir Weiss's side defeated KI Klasvik and NK Olimpija Ljubljana in their opening two games, and they looked set to make it three wins in a row when taking a 1-0 lead away to Lille courtesy of Aleksandar Cavric's 23rd minute strike.

However, Yusuf Yazici equalised for the Ligue 1 side after the break, before Remy Cabella stole the show with only eight minutes of normal time remaining. Lucas Lovat's late dismissal left the Sky Blues with little hope of mounting a comeback.

With Slovan Bratislava looking on course to win their sixth successive domestic title given that they lead second-placed MSK Zilina by four points at the top of the table, Weiss and his players will be desperate to make an impact in Europe this season, with any positive result they can collect on Thursday likely to provide a major boost to their primary aim of reaching the next phase.

Likewise, Lille are enjoying themselves competing in European football once again having been absent last season following their below-par 10th-placed finish in Ligue 1 in the 2021-22 campaign.

However, former Porto and Roma boss Paulo Fonseca made a decent impact in his first season at the club, helping Lille finish fifth with 67 points, although they missed out on qualifying for the Champions League by six points.

The Northmen reached the first knockout stages of the Europa League and the Champions League in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 campaigns respectively, but they will fancy their chances of reaching a European quarter-final for the first time in the club's history given that they are competing at the third level of UEFA's competition this time around.

Drawing 0-0 away to KI Klasvik in the Faroe Islands has been the only blemish on their copybook so far, while an unbeaten run of five games in Ligue 1 helping Fonseca's side up to fifth position in their domestic league table. Depending on results elsewhere, claiming a victory in the Slovakian capital could all but seal their progression to the last-16.

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Lille Europa Conference League form:

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Team News

Slovan Bratislava will be without Lovat due to suspension after his dismissal in the return fixture, meaning Matus Vojtko is likely to be called upon at left-back for the hosts.

Having produced a strong performance when falling to a late defeat away to Lille, Weiss may deploy a similar starting XI, although his son and namesake Vladimir Weiss may come into his father and manager's thoughts having missed out on appearing in France.

Lille, meanwhile, will travel without Bafode Diakite and Tiago Djalo due to foot and knee injuries respectively, but otherwise Fonseca appears to have a fully fit squad to select from.

Jonathan David, Samuel Umtiti and Cabella will be expecting starts after only being named on the bench for their side's 0-0 draw away to Marseille on Saturday, with former Manchester United player Angel Gomes potentially dropping into a deeper role in midfield.

Slovan Bratislava possible starting lineup:

Borjan; Bajric, Kashia, Wimmer; Barseghyan, Kucka, Savvidis, Kankava, Vojtko; Weiss, Cavric

Lille possible starting lineup:

Chevalier; Santos, Yoro, Umtiti, Gudmundsson; Gomes, Andre; Ounas, Yazici, Cabella; David

We say: Slovan Bratislava 1-1 Lille

Given that Slovan Bratislava almost gained a positive result away to Lille, they should fancy their chances of doing so with home advantage in their favour this time around.

Both sides are in strong positions to progress from Group A, so we can envisage both sides being content with a draw should the match appear to be heading in that direction.

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