French Ligue 1 outfit Lille prepare to square off against Qabala at the Stadium Nord Lille Métropole on Thursday night for the Europa League qualifiers and the match should prove to be a closely fought encounter.
Lille Match Betting News
Following a lowly 8th placed finish during the 2014/15 season, Lille made a lot of improvement last term by finishing in 5th position in the Ligue 1 table – just 5 points off of second place Lyon.
The 5th place finish means that Lille have the chance to qualify for the Europa League for the upcoming campaign and having missed out on European football completely last season, manager Frédéric Antonetti will be desperate for his side to make it into Europe’s second tier competition this time around.
Lille have been handed a clash against Azerbaijani side Qabala and although the French side will be favourites, they most certainly cannot afford to underestimate their opponents in the first leg on Thursday night.
Qabala Match Betting News
Qabala only finished in 3rd place in the Azerbaijan Premier League last season but they will be competing for a place in the Europa League once again and the Radars will most certainly be looking to replicate their feats of the last edition of the competition.
Qabala were able to knockout Greece’s Panathinaikos during the qualifiers last season, before acquitting themselves very well in a group consisting of the likes of Kuban Krasnodar, PAOK and Borussia Dortmund.
Manager Roman Hryhorchuk will be hoping for something similar this season as well but before looking too far ahead, Qabala must first ensure that they qualify and having been handed a clash against Lille, one can be sure that the task will not be an easy one for the Azerbaijanis.
Lille vs Qabala Match Prediction
Qabala have proven over the last 12 months that they are able to mix it up with established teams in Europe and they will surely head into the first leg encounter against Lille without any fear.
That being said, Lille do possess a much stronger side overall and should be able to establish a first leg advantage on the night.
