What would be the best and worst draw for Lille in the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League?

Qualified for the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League, Lille will know their opponent this Friday at 2pm. If it’s the most ordinary of the three European Cups, the draw could still reserve some big pieces for the Mastiffs. Obviously the most critical opponent appears to be Aston Villa, who are currently fourth in the Premier League and who specialize in European trophies with their coach Unai Emery.

Fenerbahçe is one of the potentially dominant teams, with old hands Edin Dzeko and Dusan Tedic and some good Ligue 1 veterans, ex-Marseilles Cengiz Under and ex-Strasbourg player Aleksandar Djiku.

A reunion with a former Lily resident?

Lily can also meet old acquaintances. His former midfielder Soaliho Meite, who with PAOK Salonika, overthrew Dinamo Zagreb (5-1). Or his former winger Jonathan Iacone, at Fiorentina from January 2022. The team, which also features Maxime López, is not in particularly good shape, having won just two Serie A matches in 2024.

But we have to be wary of a team that reached the final of the competition last year (1-2 against West Ham). Because we have to be careful with Club Brugge who were in the round of 16 of the Champions League a year ago. The last two possible opponents are Olympiakos, who are stunning against Maccabi Tel Aviv (4-1 loss in the first leg, 6-1 victory in the return leg), and the Czechs of Plzeň.