Aston Villa travel to France to take on Lille this week in the first leg of their last 16 tie in the Europa League.
These two sides locked horns in this competition two seasons ago, where Aston Villa eventually progressed on penalties in a tie full of needle. Lille now come into this game 6th in Ligue 1 amidst what has been a decent campaign so far. Their exploits in this competition have been a mixed bag, with their group stage campaign resulting in an 18th place finish with 12 points from eight games. In the playoff round, they beat Red Star 2-1 on aggregate after winning the second leg 2-0.
Their recent form has been solid, with three wins, two draws and one loss from their last six. Their recent games have largely been low scoring affairs, with all of their last nine games producing under 2.5 goals.
Aston Villa, meanwhile, enter this game amidst a slump, with only one win from their last seven games. They've lost three of their last four games (and four of their last seven), a run that has come at the worst possible time in the season.
Like Lille, their recent games have been low scoring, with only two of their last seven producing over 2.5 goals. Top performer Morgan Rogers seems to have lost form, scoring only twice in eleven games. With key midfielder Boubacar Kamara out for the season with a knee injury, Villa face an uphill battle to turn their form around and get back on track.
Given their recent form, combined with the fact Lille have won three of their last four games, this could be a tough outing for the Midlands-based club.
Lille 1-0 Aston Villa
