LILLE v QABALA
Thursday 28th July 2016 – Kickoff; 1900hrs
Football – Europe – Europa League Betting Tips
Lille finished the regular French Ligue 1 season in fifth place which also earned them a qualifying stage in the Europa League along with fellow compatriots Saint-Etienne, and they begin their season with a home first leg tie against Azerbaijan outfit Qabala at their Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
Lille are unbeaten in their four warm-up matches ahead of this Europa League tussle having beaten Dunkerque at home and Belgian side Waasland-Beveren away from home which book-ended 0-0 stalemates with Red Star and Oostende respectively.
Overall, Lille have lost just once in their last 15 matches in all competitions which must give them confidence of progressing in this tournament, and even though they’re without a home win from their last four Europa League matches, they should have too much for their visitors tonight.
Onto Qabala, and they’ve progressed through to the third round qualifying stage of the Europa League following wins over Georgian side Samtredia 6-3 on aggregate in the first round and a 4-1 aggregate win over MTK Budapest in the previous qualifying round.
Qabala have handled themselves pretty well in the Europa League over the past few seasons and have achieved some good results at this level which includes previous wins over Dinamo Tbilisi and Apollon in earlier campaigns.
However, this fixture is likely to put them to a serious test as they look to keep the hosts Lille quiet in their own back-yard, and this qualifying round could be a bridge too far for them…
Pick: Lille AH-1 @ 1.72 Unibet
