Lille vs Salzburg Match Preview

For the 5th round of the 7th group of the UEFA Champions League, Lille hosts Salzburg at Stade Pierre - Mauroy.

It was a big win for Lille in the previous group stage match, they prevailed 2-1 over Sevilla on the road. They may have been behind in the score from 18΄ but with goals in 43΄ and 51΄ they took the lead which they kept until the end of the match.

With this three-pointer, Lille gained reasonable hopes for qualifying as they reached 5 points and are in the 2nd place of the group, having 2 points less than their current opponents.

In the French league, last season's champions remained winless for 5th match after the 2-2 draw on Friday against Monaco sitting in the middle of the standings with 12 points.

Salzburg did not succeed away for home at Wolfsburg 3 weeks ago in the 4rd round, they were defeated by the German team 2-1. They were left behind in the score from very early (3΄), equalized with the completion of half an hour in the game but could not respond to the home team's lead again in 60΄ and lost the match.

In fact, this was their first defeat after 6.5 months and 29 matches in all competitions, however, they remain in the 1st place of the group with 7 points and have a qualifying lead.

In the Austrian Bundesliga, the permanent champions in recent years are heading for another title, after 15 rounds played they are in 1st place with 39 points, having a 14-point distance from the 2nd-placed Sturm Graz. In their last match last Saturday, they played a 0-0 draw against Antmira.

Lille, after their victory in the previous match, raised their hopes for qualifying to the next round. However, they continue to have ups and downs in their performance at the same time that Salzburg shows a better and more stable team and are deservedly topping the group. I expect an open match between two quality attacking sides that score easily. My choice is Over 2.5 goals at 1.80 odds.