It is a top of the table clash as French Ligue 1 side Lille will welcome Serie A high flyers AC Milan on Matchday #4 in the UEFA Europa League Group ‘H’ campaign. Lille are top of the group standings after three matches with seven points and remain the only unbeaten team of the group with two wins and a draw. Milan are right behind their hosts with six points accrued from two wins out of those three matches.
Lille are coming off a 4-0 win over Lorient in Ligue 1 that places them second behind Paris Saint-Germain in the standings. They have lost only once in 14 competitive matches this season winning eight and drawing five. In the Europa League, Lille started with a 4-1 win over Sparta Prague and were then held at home by Celtic to a 2-2 draw. However, the 3-0 win over Milan on matchday #3 suggested that Lille remain the top dogs of the group and are the ‘team to beat’. They lead the table on most goals scored and less goals conceded – so, there’s efficiency at both ends of table.
Milan were 3-1 winners over Napoli in Serie A over the weekend that kept them top of the league standings with a two-point margin. Much like their hosts, Milan have lost only one competitive match in 14 games this season – winning 11 – one via penalties – and drawing two. Milan started in the second qualifying round this season and have won five matches so far – including one via penalties. Interestingly, each of those wins saw Milan score at least twice. However, the absence of talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic could be a big blow to their scoring chances in this match. One positive for them is that they have won all three away matches in the competition this season.
Lille and Milan have been the surprise trend-setters in their respective leagues and will carry good scoring confidence into this fixture. Yusuf Yazici has already scored two hat-tricks in the competition and will be gunning for more in this game. If Milan can get Ibra fit for this match, there will be goals for the visitors too. Either way, we are expecting this game to produce more than two goals.