LOSC Lille vs. SC Freiburg Europa League preview: Team news and predicted lineups

SC Freiburg are enjoying an unbeaten campaign in Europe, and a point away at Lille would be enough for them to automatically qualify for the Round of 16 in the Europa League. The hosts are in contention for the playoff round as they currently sit in 21st place out of 36 teams.

LOSC Lille

Including a 4-1 home defeat to fellow European hopefuls Strasbourg on Sunday, Lille lost their first five games since the turn of the year. They were knocked out of the Coupe de France by Lyon, while their hopes of a direct spot in the Round of 16 ended with a 2-1 defeat to Celta Vigo.

Bruno Génésio saw Lille losing against two of his old clubs, and he needs to turn it around before it’s too late. They will face the in-form Lyon side once again on Sunday as they have the chance to close the gap with the top four in Ligue 1. 

Lille surprisingly finished in the top eight of the inaugural league phase stage in the Champions League last term before losing to Borussia Dortmund in the Round of 16.

Team News

Nabil Bentaleb missed the weekend’s game after suffering an injury early in the defeat to Celta Vigo. Moroccan international Hamza Igamane, who scored four times in this competition, suffered an ACL injury during the controversial AFCON final defeat to Senegal. World Cup winner Olivier Giroud is expected to lead the attacking line for LOSC.

SC Freiburg

Freiburg qualified for the Round of 16 in their two previous Europa League campaigns, and that run will most likely extend this term. The only way they’ll have to go through a playoff round will be if they lose to Lille while all six teams below them simultaneously win their games.

A 2-1 win over Köln saw Julian Schuster’s side extend an unbeaten home record to 13 matches in all competitions. In Europe, they’ve not conceded a goal in their last three games, with narrow wins over RB Salzburg and Maccabi Tel Aviv after a goalless draw at Viktoria Plzeň.

Following in the footsteps of the legendary Christian Streich is a tough task, but Freiburg’s ex-midfielder has been a huge success in his first 18 months as a head coach. The 40-year-old won the prestigious award of “Coach of the Year” by Kicker in his first season, and there is more to come with the team performing well in three competitions.

Team News

Schuster rotated his team as much as possible in 2026 with the congested fixture list for Freiburg. The in-form striker Igor Matanovic has been one of the few mainstays in the side. The two captains – Christian Günter and Vincenzo Grifo – came off the bench against Köln, while Johan Manzambi was an unused substitute.

Predicted Lineups

Lille: Özer; Santos, Ngoy, Mandy, Verdonk; Mukau, Bouaddi; Correira, Haraldsson, Fernandez-Pardo; Giroud ©

Freiburg: Atubolu; Kübler, Ginter, Ogbus, Günter ©; Eggestein, Manzambi; Beste, Grifo, Suzuki; Matanovic