"Suffering last-gasp heartbreak at home against Lorient over the weekend as they eventually had to settle for a 1-1 stalemate against Lorient, Bruno Genesio's side have recorded just a quartet of wins from any of their previous 14 appearances across all competitions. Tumbling down the Ligue 1 standings and coming over some hefty scrutiny over the past few months, Lille have also failed to find any kind of clinical edge in the final third."
"Knowing the importance of claiming a first-leg advantage on Thursday evening, Genesio's men have failed to record more than a single strike in any of their last nine consecutive showdowns at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy."
"Suffering a long-term knee injury back in January, former Rangers striker Hamza Igamane is expected to miss the remainder of the 2025/26 campaign. Likewise, former PSG youngster Ethan Mbappe is still dealing with a reported thigh issue and will not play any part on Thursday evening."
Aston Villa travels to France to face Lille in their Europa League Round of 16 first-leg match on Thursday evening. Lille recently advanced past Red Star in the previous round but has shown significant inconsistency, winning only four of their last 14 matches across all competitions. The hosts suffered a disappointing 1-1 draw against Lorient and have struggled to create clinical finishing opportunities, failing to score more than one goal in their last nine consecutive home matches at Stade Pierre-Mauroy. Lille will be without striker Hamza Igamane due to a long-term knee injury and Ethan Mbappe due to a thigh issue, though Oliver Giroud is expected to return. Aston Villa enters the match as betting favorites, with Tammy Abraham backed at 17/20 odds to record over 0.5 shots on target.
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