Lille – Real Betis

France’s third team won’t concede at its home stadium.

Over the past seven years, Lille has reliably started every second season in the Champions League. At the same time, the Dogues feel so confident in European competitions that only once during that period did they fail to reach the knockout stage of continental tournaments. This happened in 2020, when the French club failed to advance from the group stage of the Champions League. In the previous season, Lille was not considered among the real contenders for a top-4 finish in Ligue 1, but finished third, which even allowed them to avoid qualification for Europe’s top tournament. For the new season, Lille prepared Davide Ancelotti, the son of one of the greatest coaches of modern times. In the off-season, the Dogues lost two leaders: Buaddi and Fernández-Prado. For them, Manchester City and Newcastle paid a total of 155 million euros. Without those players, Lille managed to start the season in Ligue 1 quite confidently. In away matches against Angers and Toulouse, the Dogues secured clean sheets, and the home match with PSG somehow did not end in three points for them. With 90 minutes on the clock, Lille led 2-0, but the final whistle came with a draw – 2-2. Bookmakers named the home team as favorites for the upcoming opening match of the Champions League group stage, offering odds of 2.21 on their win. Betis will hear the Champions League anthem for the first time in 20 years. In 2005, the team qualified for Europe’s main tournament through the qualifiers, finishing third in their group in the group stage. The Seville club has been actively involved in European competitions in recent years. In the season before last, the team reached the Conference League final, and in the spring of this year stopped at the quarterfinals of the Europa League. In the off-season, Betis tried to strengthen the squad, signing Fran García, Facundo Bernal, and Troy Parrott for a total of 30 million euros. Dani Ceballos also moved to Betis on a free transfer from Real Madrid. The Seville club continues to play under the management of Manuel Pellegrini, who has been coaching here since 2020. Last Friday Betis, thanks to a goal in the last minute at home, defeated Real Madrid, but in France they will face a completely different style of football and the absence of mass support in the stands.