Celtic welcome Lille to Parkhead in the Europa League on Thursday, with both teams sitting at opposite ends of Group H.
Unbeaten Lille have 11 points at the top of the group, while Celtic are bottom with just a single point to show for their efforts.
It is no secret that 2020/21 has been a season to forget for Celtic up to now, both domestically and on the European stage.
Neil Lennon’s side find themselves 13 points behind Rangers in the Scottish Premiership, while they are also five points adrift in Group H.
In fact, Celtic’s sole Europa League point came from a thrilling 2-2 draw with Lille in France on Matchday 2.
However, back-to-back 4-1 defeats to Sparta Prague, along with a 4-2 defeat to AC Milan, have ended the club’s European hopes for another season.
Following a 1-1 draw with St. Johnstone on Sunday, Celtic head into Matchday 6 on a five-match winless run in all competitions.
On the other hand, Lille are enjoying a five-match unbeaten streak. Better still, the French side have only lost one of their 18 outings in all competitions this term.
Three wins and two draws from five Europa League games have seen Lille book their place in the Round of 32 with a game to spare.
Meanwhile, seven wins and five draws mean Lille are second in Ligue 1 – two points behind PSG – having only lost one of their 13 domestic matches.
Not only are Lille the joint-second highest scorers in the Ligue 1, they also boast the joint-best defensive record in the division.
Yusuf Yazici has been the star of the show this season, netting ten goals in 17 appearances, including six in five Europa League outings.
Head-to-head: As we know, Lille and Celtic played out an exciting 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture back in October.
A Mohamed Elyounoussi brace have Celtic a 2-0 lead in France, but two second half strikes from Lille eventually saw the match end level.
Team news: Celtic have no fresh injury concerns ahead of Thursday’s clash. It is unclear whether Lennon will field a strong starting XI or choose to rest some of his key players.
Lille will be without right-back Zeki Celik and midfielder Renato Sanches as the duo continue to recover from injury.
Celtic will be desperate to go out on a high on Thursday, but the contrasting form of these two sides gives Lille an obvious edge here.
🔴 Conférence de presse👥 Christophe Galtier & un joueur⏰ Demain, à 12h45📺 En live-vidéo sur Facebook, Twitter, YouTube et sur notre site pic.twitter.com/ANY0qeLHwx— LOSC (@losclive) December 8, 2020
🔴 Conférence de presse👥 Christophe Galtier & un joueur⏰ Demain, à 12h45📺 En live-vidéo sur Facebook, Twitter, YouTube et sur notre site pic.twitter.com/ANY0qeLHwx
Forebet predicts that both teams will score. However, in-form Lille are expected to beat struggling Celtic.