Two teams experiencing contrasting runs of form meet at Estadio de Balaidos on Thursday night, as Celta Vigo play host to Lille in their penultimate League Phase fixture in the Europa League.
Los Celestes and Les Dogues have never faced each other in a competitive match before, but the latter did claim a 3-1 friendly win over the former in July 2024.
Celta Vigo have made a perfect start to 2026, as they have won three La Liga matches out of three against Valencia, Sevilla and Rayo Vallecano, scoring 11 goals and conceded only one in the process to boost their hopes of securing a top-six finish this season.
Los Celestes secured a 3-0 home win over 10-man Rayo Vallecano last weekend to extend their unbeaten run in the Spanish top flight to six games (W5 D1) and climb up to seventh in the table, level on points with sixth-placed Real Betis and only two points behind Espanyol in fifth spot.
In the Europa League, Celta Vigo are down in 19th place in the 36-team standings, level on points and just one place above Thursday’s opponents Lille, after experiencing an inconsistent League Phase campaign to date, winning three and losing three of their first six games.
While securing an automatic last-16 qualification spot is seemingly a tall order for Vigo, as they sit four points behind the top eight with only two games remaining, Claudio Giraldez’s side remain hopeful of sealing a knockout round playoff spot. However, dropping points against Lille would put them in danger of slipping out of the top 24 heading into their final match away against Red Star Belgrade.
Competing in the Europa League for the just the second time after reaching the semi-finals in their maiden appearance in 2016-17, Celta Vigo have only ever faced French opposition five times in their history and have prevailed just once (D2 L2), beating Nice 2-1 on home soil in October of this season’s competition.
© Imago / Sportsphoto
In stark contrast to Celta Vigo, Lille have suffered defeat in each of their opening three games of 2026, with a 2-1 home loss to Lyon in the last 32 of the Coupe de France sandwiched between Ligue 1 defeats against Rennes and Paris Saint-Germain.
Les Dogues were beaten 3-0 away against the reigning Ligue 1 champions last Friday - not since September 2024 have they lost four games in a row in all competitions - and they have subsequently slipped out of the top three down to fifth spot where they finished last season.
Bruno Genesio’s side are in need of a morale-boosting victory and one that can consolidate their place in the knockout round playoff positions in the Europa League following a run of three defeats in four League Phase matches, including a slender 1-0 loss away against Young Boys on December 11.
Lille reached the last 16 of the Champions League last season and the Conference League quarter-finals in 2023-24, but defeat to Celta Vigo on Thursday would put them at risk of failing to qualify for the knockout rounds this term, while it would also see them lose three successive Europa League games away from home for the first time in their history.
The French outfit have faced Spanish opposition 17 times in their history and they have only celebrated victory five times (D6 L6), though they have prevailed in each of their last three since November 2021, beating Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Celta Vigo Europa League form:
Celta Vigo form (all competitions):
Lille Europa League form:
Lille form (all competitions):
© Imago / Pressinphoto
Lille left-back Mihailo Ristic remain sidelined with a muscle strain, while midfielder Ilaix Moriba will serve a one-match ban due to an accumulation of yellow cards in the Europa League.
In Moriba’s absence, Miguel Roman or Fran Beltran is expected to earn a recall in midfield alongside Hugo Sotelo, while Oscar Mingueza and Sergio Carreira are set to continue as wing-backs in Giraldez’s 3-4-3 system.
Pablo Duran will hope to start up front after scoring the opening goal for Vigo in both of his last two games, but top scorer Borja Iglesias - who has 11 goals to his name this term - could instead return to the first XI and be supported in attack by Bryan Zaragoza and 38-year-old Iago Aspas.
As for Lille, Hamza Igamane recently sustained an ACL injury and is joined in the treatment room by Benjamin Andre (shoulder), Andre Gomes and Calvin Verdonk (both muscle), while in-demand Matias Fernandez-Pardo (thigh) is a doubt.
Ayyoub Bouaddi is suspended after he was sent off against Young Boys on matchday six, so Ngal'ayel Mukau could partner Nabil Bentaleb in centre-midfield as Hakon Haraldsson operates in an advanced central role.
Thirty-nine-year-old Olivier Giroud - a Europa League winner with Chelsea in 2018-19 - is likely to start up front in the absence of Igamane, with Felix Correia and Ethan Mbappe - the younger brother of Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe - providing support from out wide.
Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Radu; Fernandez, Starfelt, Alonso; Mingueza, Roman, Sotelo, Carreira; Aspas, Iglesias, Zaragoza
Lille possible starting lineup:
Ozer; Meunier, Ngoy, Mandi, Perraud; Bentaleb, Mukau; Mbappe, Haraldsson, Correia; Giroud
Goals are to be expected on Thursday given that five of Celta Vigo’s six Europa League games have seen both teams score this season, while all six have produced at least three goals.
Five of Lille’s last seven wins across all tournaments have been by a one-goal margin, but taking into account the recent form of both teams, we are backing the hosts to claim a narrow victory on this occasion.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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