Celta – Lille

The Spanish club will be closer to victory on its home arena.

The Franco-Spanish clash will take place in the seventh round of the Europa League group stage. The opponents this season have been performing at a good level, but recently they have been in different form. Since returning from the Segunda Division more than thirteen years ago, the club from Vigo has become a stable mid-table side, but has several times fought to avoid relegation in La Liga. In recent years under the management of Claudio Giraldez, Celta have fared much better. Last season the team for the first time in ten years earned the right to represent Spain in European competition. As in the 2016/2017 season, Celta qualified for the Europa League. Back then the club unexpectedly managed to reach the tournament's semifinals. Now the team from Vigo is aiming to reach the playoff ties and has already completed 90% of the work required to achieve this goal. Considering that in the final round of the group stage Celta face an unpleasant trip to Belgrade, they must collect the necessary points at home in the match against Lille. It seems the French club is not having its best days right now, so it could become a points provider. Lille parted ways with their leaders during the last off-season and were not touted as even a contender for a place in the Champions League positions in the next Ligue 1 season. Nevertheless, the Dogues in the first half of the season showed a decent level of football. At the start of 2026 they risk undoing the positions gained in the autumn. Bookmakers have made the home side the favourites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 2.39 on their victory. Celta have won the last three La Liga matches. In addition, victories over Valencia and Rayo Vallecano were by a margin of three goals. The team's unbeaten run in the league reached six games. It included a win over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. Such results came after two defeats in the Europa League, but now this tournament requires heightened attention. Lille started 2026 terribly, losing three matches in a row. Two of them were in the league, one in the cup. The Dogues lost two of their three away Europa League fixtures, managing to beat only Roma at their stadium in Rome. The combination of factors suggests Lille have slim chances of taking three points from Vigo.