Preview: Lille vs. BATE Borisov

Former French champions Lille begin their Champions League Group F campaign with a home clash against BATE Borisov on Wednesday.

Rudi Garcia's side failed to make it out of the group stages last season following disappointing results against Inter Milan and CSKA Moscow. The French club also failed to win any of their home games in the competition last season, but will be confident of starting with three points this time around.

Meanwhile, BATE Borisov qualified for this season's European competition after overcoming Kiryay Shmona 3-1 on aggregate. They will need to improve their recent away form if they are to secure a result, however, having won just two of their last 12 matches on the road.

Lille begin their campaign without Eden Hazard and Joe Cole who have both departed the club, while Marko Basa and David Rozehnal are both struggling with injuries. However, Newcastle United target Mathieu Debuchy should start.

BATE Borisov, meanwhile, have no fresh injury concerns to contend with and are expected to hand a start to former Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder Alexander Hleb.

Recent form:

Lille: DLWDL BATE Borisov: DWWDL

Possible lineups:

Lille: Landreau; Debuchy, Beria, Chedjou, Digne; Martin, Mavuba, Balmont; Payer, Roux, De Melo

BATE Borisov: Gorbunov; Radkov, Polyakov, Simic, Bordachev; Volodkov, Likharov, Sivakov; Hleb; Rodionov, Mozolevski

Sports Mole says: 1-1