With a spot in the round of 16 of the Europa League at stake, Red Star Belgrade will welcome Lille to Rajko Mitic Stadium in Serbia’s capital on Thursday.
In the opening leg of this tie last week, the Serbian side came away with a 1-0 triumph, giving them the upper hand heading home for this decisive fixture.
Match preview
Another sound defensive performance has Red Star on the brink of a place in the last 16 of this competition for the first time since 2022.
If you don’t count friendlies, then Dejan Stankovic has yet to lose in his second stint in charge of this club, winning six consecutive competitive outings at the helm.
His side have not conceded in their last three matches played across all competitions, while netting a combined 19 goals in six encounters this month.
At home, this team are unbeaten in their last four games played excluding friendlies, without a single defeat in Serbia on the current Europa League campaign.
They have yet to lose a home game in the tournament this decade beyond the group phase, defeating Rangers 2-1 in Belgrade in 2022, but losing that round of 16 tie 4-2 on aggregate.
At the same time, this team have never won a home contest versus French opposition in Europe this century, with their only such victory coming in a 1998 first-round affair versus Metz (2-1) when this tournament was known as the UEFA Cup.
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© Imago / PRESSE SPORTS
A rough opening leg at home last week has Lille in need of a win to maintain their hopes of making the last 16 of this tournament for the first time since 2010.
Bruno Genesio’s men are coming into this match on a positive note, defeating Angers 1-0 in Ligue 1 action this past weekend, their first away win of 2026.
A victory on Thursday would end their three-game losing run as the visitors in this competition, while also marking their first Europa League triumph on the road since last October at Roma (1-0).
Lille have lost their last two knockout fixtures away from home in Europe since a 3-0 win at Sturm Graz in the opening leg of a Conference League tie in 2024.
After failing to win the first match of a knockout tie beyond the group phase of a European tournament this century, Lille have never advanced.
The last time they had a two-legged affair in Serbia, however, Les Dogues came away with a 2-0 victory at Sloboda Uzice in the third round of the 2009 Europa League qualifying stage, advancing 4-0 on aggregate.
Red Star Belgrade Europa League form:
Red Star Belgrade form (all competitions):
Lille Europa League form:
Lille form (all competitions):
Team News
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© Imago / Starsport
For this decisive game, Red Star will be without Vladimir Lucic after the Serbian winger received another caution in their victory last Thursday.
Franklin Tebo Uchenna had the only goal in France, which came in first-half stoppage time, while Matheus Magalhaes stopped the only two targeted efforts that he faced for a clean sheet.
A calf strain may keep Alexsandro sidelined for Lille this week, Thomas Meunier has a sore hamstring, Osame Sahraoui is doubtful due to a groin issue, while Hamza Igamane will not feature because of a cruciate ligament tear.
Ethan Mbappe Lottin is likely out as well with a leg injury, Ousmane Toure continues to recover from a cruciate ligament tear, while Marc-Aurele Caillard remains questionable with an elbow problem.
Red Star Belgrade possible starting lineup:
Matheus; Erakovic, Uchenna, Rodrigao; Seol, Handel, Krunic, Tiknizyan; Duarte, Katai; Enem
Lille possible starting lineup:
Ozer; Bouaddi, Mandi, Ngoy, Perraud; Bentaleb, Andre; Perrin, Harraldsson, Correia; Fernandez-Pardo
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We say: Red Star Belgrade 1-0 Lille (Red Star Belgrade advances 2-0 on aggregate)
Although it is hardly an insurmountable deficit, Lille have not shown the quality in front of goal or consistency away from home to give us the belief that they can come back against a side as compact and in-form as Red Star.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.