It is last-chance saloon for the hosts at Stadion Stozice on Thursday night, as NK Olimpija Ljubljana welcome Lille knowing only a victory will be enough to keep their Europa Conference League dreams alive.
The Slovenian champions need to earn results in their final two group matches to have any opportunity of securing a top-two finish, while the visitors are a win away from progression.
Match preview
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Olimpija Ljubljana kept their Europa Conference League ambitions intact last time out on the continent prior to November's international break, beating KI Klaksvik of the Faroe Islands at home to record their maiden points of the section on the fourth matchday.
The Slovenians dominated the ball and created the lion's share of the clear-cut chances on the evening, but they had to wait until the final 10 minutes to settle the contest, with David Sualehe and Mustafa Nukic eventually getting onto the scoresheet against a 10-man Klaksvik.
Since that maiden success in the group stage of the Conference League, Joao Henriques's men have sealed back-to-back wins in the Slovenian top flight against Mura and Radomlje most recently, with Nemanja Motika and Rui Pedro making the net ripple in the 2-0 win on Saturday.
Sitting bottom of the Group A standings having collected just three points from their opening four games, Ljubljana know that the four-point gap to second-placed Slovan Bratislava can only be clawed back with at least a point against their French visitors on Thursday night.
Lille returned from the international pause in style over the weekend, travelling to bottom side Lyon in Ligue 1 and producing a commanding display, with first-half strikes from Jonathan David and Tiago Santos ensuring the visitors picked up their sixth league win of the campaign.
After a fifth-placed finish in the French top flight last year, Les Dogues are pushing for a top-three placement this time around which would see them gain a coveted spot in a revamped Champions League in 2024-25, and Paulo Fonseca's men are currently fourth, just a point behind Monaco in third.
In terms of their Conference League adventure, Lille have made relatively lightwork of the section but were denied the chance to all-but secure their passage into the knockout stages after Aleksandar Cavric of Bratislava cancelled out Angel Gomes's opener on matchday four early this month.
Following Canadian striker David pushing the likes of Folarin Balogun and Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe for the Golden Boot in France last year, the 23-year-old has only managed three goals in 13 league matches, although he remains one of the biggest attacking threats in the Conference League.
The former Gent marksman netted from 12 yards out when Les Dogues welcomed Ljubljana to Decathlon Arena in September on matchday one, before fellow striker Yusuf Yazici doubled the French side's advantage.
Team News
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Olimpija are expected to name a similar side to the one which defeated Klaksvik before the international break, meaning Marcel Ratnik and Ahmet Muhamedbegovic will form a partnership in defence once again.
Argentine midfielder Agustin Doffo was a standout performer on that night for the hosts in Slovenia, and the 28-year-old will be hoping to repeat the trick in this one.
Lille have a pair of players who will not return to action until the start of next month, with Bafode Diakite and Tiago Djalo recovering from foot and cruciate ligament injuries respectively.
Veteran left-back Ismaily remains in the visitors' medical room due to a hamstring strain, meaning it is likely that Swede Gabriel Gudmundsson starts for Les Dogues.
A centre-back pairing for Alexsandro Ribeiro and youngster Leny Yoro helped their side keep a clean sheet against Lyon on the weekend, and the same pairing should be utilised by Fonseca on Thursday night.
NK Olimpija Ljubljana possible starting lineup:
Pintol; Silva, Ratnik, Muhamedbegovic, Lasickas; Doffo, Motika, Fadida, Pedro, Brest; Bristric
Lille possible starting lineup:
Chevalier; Santos, Yoro, Ribeiro, Gudmundsson; Bentaleb, Gomes, Zhegrova, Yazici, Haraldsson; David
We say: NK Olimpija Ljubljana 0-2 Lille
Although Ljubljana have fared well in their recent home matches, the visit of French giants Lille represents the toughest tests the Slovenians are set to encounter this term.
Fonseca's men put in a commanding display to breeze past strugglers Lyon on the weekend, and we see them doing a similar thing at Stadion Stozice to sealed Les Dogues' place in the knockout stages.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
