Preview:Red Star Belgrade vs Lille - prediction, team news, lineups

Seeking their first triumph in this phase of the Europa League this season, Red Star Belgrade will welcome Lille to Rajko Mitic Stadium in Serbia on Thursday.

A 2-0 defeat in Portugal against Braga dropped the Serbians down to 30th in the League Phase standings, with Les Dogues currently 11th despite a 4-3 defeat at home to PAOK the last time out.

Match preview

Three matches into this portion of the Europa League and Red Star are still struggling to create much in the attacking third, scoring just one goal overall.

Vladan Milojevic’s men are currently on a four-match winless run across all competitions, scoring a goal or fewer in three of those outings.

That said, their only point in this round took place in Belgrade on matchday one versus Celtic (1-1), while they have points in three straight Europa League group fixtures on home soil.

The Serbians are on a five-match unbeaten run at home across all competitions, winning three of those domestic affairs over that stretch by a combined margin of 15-3.

They have gone on to win their last seven Europa League group fixtures at home when scoring the opening goal, a run which dates back to 2017.

Red Star will be searching for their first triumph on French soil Thursday since a 2-1 win at Stade Saint-Symphorien versus Metz in 1998, winning that UEFA Cup tie on penalties.

Throughout the 2025-26 season, Lille have been heavily reliant on their goalscoring prowess to get by, but on matchday three, they could not equal the Greeks in that department.

As a result, they are just outside of the top eight and an automatic place in the round of 16, with Norwegian side Brann above them on goal difference heading into matchday four.

On Thursday Lille will aim to avoid suffering consecutive Europa League group defeats in the the same campaign for the first time since 2009 (two).

Bruno Genesio’s men have won three of their previous five competitive away contests but lost on that last occasion at Nice in late October (2-0).

This team are undefeated when scoring first both domestically and in Europe this season and have come back to claim four points in Ligue 1 so far over this campaign when conceding the opener.

Les Nordistes have a 100% all-time record against Serbian clubs, winning both of their 2009 meetings with FK Globoda Uzice in the 2009 Europa League qualifying stage by a 2-0 score.

Red Star Belgrade Europa League form:

Red Star Belgrade form (all competitions):

Lille Europa League form:

Lille form (all competitions):

Team News

A broken fibula will keep Shavy Babicka out of the Red Star fold for this upcoming outing, with the Gabonese midfielder suffering that injury in early October.

From matchday two to three, we saw two changes to the Belgrade starting 11 with Rodrigao and Rade Krunic coming in to replace Milos Veljkovic and Timi Elsnik.

Lille are likely to be missing Alexsandro on Thursday due to a muscle strain, Ousmane Toure is out with a cruciate ligament tear, Marc-Aurele Caillard has an elbow injury, while Ethan Mbappe Lottin is questionable because of a minor knock.

A brace from Hamza Igamane, along with a goal by Benjamin Andre, was not enough against PAOK, as Les Dogues allowed the winner in the ninth minute of second-half stoppage time.

Red Star Belgrade possible starting lineup:

Matheus; Young-woo, Uchenna, Rodrigao, Tiknizyan; Bajo, Handel; Radonjic, Kostov, Ivanic; Arnautovic

Lille possible starting lineup:

Ozer; Meunier, Mandi, Ngoy, Verdonk; Andre, Bouaddi; Correia, Haraldsson, Fernandez-Pardo; Igamane

We say: Red Star Belgrade 0-1 Lille

The atmosphere in Serbia should give the home side a lift, but we believe Lille will find a way to get back on track like they always seem to do after a subpar performance.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.