Lille’s defence has looked relatively settled in recent weeks, but that backline has not contained 2018 World Cup winner Umtiti. Before coming on in the final minutes against Stade Brestois at the weekend, he had not played since suffering a concussion against Stade de Reims at the end of September. Leny Yoro, absent for the match against Slovan Bratislava, and Alexsandro have struck a good partnership, which Fonseca has been unwilling to break up. 

However, with Yoro out, the change has been forced. Ismaily and Hákon Arnar Haraldsson are the only other major absentees as they look to beat Slovan Bratislava and take top spot in their Europa Conference League group. 

Lille likely lineup v Slovan Bratislava

Lucas Chevalier; Gabriel Gudmundsson, Samuel Umtiti, Bafodé Diakité, Tiago Santos; Benjamin André, Angel Gomes; Ivan Cavaleiro, Rémy Cabella, Yusuf Yazici; Jonathan David. (L’Éq)

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

Toulouse excelled upon their return to the top flight last season. Under Philippe Montanier, Le TéFéCé finished 13th in Ligue 1 and also won the Coupe de France. Their triumph in France’s only cup competition earned them a spot in the Europa League this season. However, despite Toulouse’s success, Montanier lost his job at the end of the season. An underperformance based on data projections was cited as the reason behind what was viewed as an extremely harsh sacking. 

Carles Martínez Novell replaced Montanier at Toulouse, stepping up from his previous role as assistant. Whilst Toulouse have been less convincing this season, they do nonetheless sit 10th in Ligue 1. Novell’s side have drawn half of their matches, including their match against Stade de Reims over the weekend. 

Toulouse are currently unbeaten (one win, one draw) in their Europa League group ahead of Thursday’s trip to Anfield. Whilst Liverpool will be favourites, Klopp is wary of his opponent. “Toulouse deserve our respect. It is a really interesting story I’d say […] this season they are a brilliant, very talented team […] they have clear ideas. We need to see how they turn up here. We really don’t know. In all of their matches, we could see that they tried to play forward. They took a point against PSG, which is huge of course,” said Klopp in a pre-match press conference, transcribed by L’Équipe.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

Lille have been put at a disadvantage by the scheduling. Lens faced Arsenal on Tuesday, and therefore have two extra days of rest, recovery and preparation, however, Les Dogues face a trip to the Faroe Islands on Thursday before Sunday’s game. It is no surprise that that game is already on Paulo Fonseca’s mind, and he is therefore looking to keep some of his star players fresh. 

David has yet to find his feet this season, but there is no doubt that he is the most explosive player in this Lille side, and on his day, he has the capacity to decide games all on his own. France U21 international Chevalier is also set to be rested, with Vito Mannone set to make his debut for the club. 

Lille likely lineup v KI Klaksvik 

Vito Mannone; Gabriel Gudmundsson, Alexsandro, Lény Yoro, Akim Zedadka; Ayyoub Bouaddi, Benjamin André; Alan Virginius, Hakon Arnar Haraldsson, Yusuf Yazici; Amine Messoussa. (L’Éq)

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

Toulouse qualified for the UEFA Europa League next season having beaten FC Nantes 5-1 in the Coupe de France final back in April. However, their participation in the tournament is threatened due to the club’s ownership. RedBird own both clubs and with AC Milan qualifying for the Champions League, there is a hypothetical chance that the two clubs, owned by RedBird Capital Partners, could meet in the Europa League, should the Rossoneri finish third in the group stages of the Champions League. Article 5 of UEFA’s regulations states that two clubs, under the same ownership, cannot participate in the same competition. 

As reported by Les Violets earlier this week, Toulouse have attempted to anticipate the issue. RedBird Capital founder Gerry Cardinale stepped down from his position on Le TéféCé’s board, however, three RedBird representatives remain on the administrative council (Alec Scheiner, Isaac Halyard, Niraj Shah). None possess shares in the club. 

However, the changes, according to L’Équipe, don’t indicate that RedBird no longer have decision-making capacity at both clubs and therefore the conflict of interest, should the two teams be drawn against each other, would still exist. Toulouse could take further measures to prove RedBird’s disengagement from Toulouse, but the timeframe to do so would be short. There are no plans to change UEFA’s regulations, and a decision on Toulouse’s participation is due at the end of the month. Should Toulouse be prohibited from participating in the competition, AS Monaco, who finished sixth in Ligue 1, could be the benefactors, with fifth-place Lille OSC potentially being promoted from the Europa Conference League, to the Europa League. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

Paris Saint-Germain were knocked out by Bayern Munich in the Champions League, whilst FC Nantes, Stade Rennais and AS Monaco slumped to disappointing defeats in the opening knockout round of the UEFA Europa League. That left OGC Nice as France’s last man standing, but they were knocked out in the quarter-final of the UEFA Europa Conference League by FC Basel. 

That result took France’s destiny out of their own hands and meant that they were reliant upon other teams to knock out the remaining Eredivisie sides. Alkmaar are the only Dutch side that remain, but regardless of whether they overturn their 2-1 deficit, or not, it will be insufficient to help the Dutch league climb above the French league, according to L’Équipe. Alkmaar needed to win both legs against West Ham, as well as the final to secure the fifth spot in the UEFA index rankings. 

As a result, from the 2024/25 season, three Ligue 1 clubs will qualify directly for the Champions League, whilst another will pass through the playoffs. Two clubs will directly qualify for the Europa League and one for the UEFA Conference League. 

West Ham were trailing at the London Stadium, but goals from Saïd Benrahma and Michail Antonio in the second half overturned the deficit, much to the relief of French football fans. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

A wave of support is coming from across the Channel as West Ham prepare to host AZ Alkmaar in the first leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final. With France’s UEFA ranking at stake, the country is eagerly awaiting the result.

Currently in fifth place, France faces the challenge of the Netherlands, who are close behind in sixth place, with only a 1.264 point gap, according to RMC Sport. With the French clubs already eliminated from European competitions, the hopes of staying in the standings rest on the shoulders of the Alkmaar players.

If the Dutch club wins its last three matches in the tournament (the two semi-finals and the final), without resorting to penalties, the Netherlands will overtake France in the UEFA coefficient.

The consequences for French soccer would be significant. Moving from fourth to fifth place would mean losing a place in the future UEFA Champions League format, which will be introduced in the 2024-2025 season. This would reduce the number of qualifying teams from Ligue 1 to three, down from the current four.

GFFN | George Boxall

OGC Nice let their lead slip in the final minutes of regulation time on their way to a Europa Conference League elimination at the hands of Swiss side FC Basel (1-2, agg. 3-4). No French sides are left in European competition this season. 

Nice were in the ascendancy from the first whistle, and had the ball in the net just six minutes in, but Hicham Boudaoui’s composed finish was rightly ruled out for an offside in the buildup. However, Les Aiglons had the ball in the back of the net again just three minutes later, and this one wasn’t ruled out. 

Some good pressing from Terem Moffi and Khéphren Thuram allowed Nice to turnover the ball deep in Basel’s half. The Frenchman laid it off to Aaron Ramsey, who played it into Gaëtan Laborde, who cut inside before cutting back across the goalkeeper with a well-struck finish. 

Laborde almost had another midway through the first half, but his curled effort was just wide. There was a dropoff in intensity from Didier Digard’s men with Moffi losing the ball cheaply and Dan Ndoye getting a good sight at goal, but his shot was dragged across the face of the goal. 

The second half was a tighter, nervier affair, with both sides struggling to create clear-cut chances. Laborde almost doubled his account on the night with an attempt at replicating Moffi’s first-leg acrobatic finish, but his effort flew the wrong side of the post. 

As the game drifted, nerves crept into the Allianz Riviera, even if Basel posed little to no threat in the opening 80 minutes. However, with their first chance of the game, the Swiss side levelled thanks to a well-struck volley from Jean-Kévin Augustin. Nice could then have proceeded to lose the game in regulation time with Zeki Amdouni, a player owned by Nice’s INEOS owners, striking the post. 

The game, therefore, went to extra time with substitute Nicolas Pépé having a big chance to allow Nice to retake their lead. However, played through on goal, the Arsenal loanee dithered and was caught. His effort was then blocked. Basel weren’t so wasteful. Just minutes later Kasim Nuhu rose highest in the Niçois box and headed in off Kasper Schmeichel’s post.

Nice were then in search of an equaliser and went close with a Billal Brahimi freekick, which struck the bar. However, Les Aiglons couldn’t level the tie, and from a position of strength, are knocked out of the Europa Conference League, a defeat which could have potentially grave consequences for France’s UEFA coefficient. 

Nice player ratings

Kasper Schmeichel – 5

Dante – 5

Jean-Clair Todibo – 4

Youssouf Ndayishimiye – 4

Melvin Bard – 3 – There was plenty of effort applied by the Lyon Academy product, but to little avail. Bard wasn’t often beaten down his side, but nor was he particularly targeted. However, the attacks that came down his wing largely petered out, and he was lacking in the final pass. 

Khéphren Thuram – 5

Hicham Boudaoui – 5

Aaron Ramsey – 6 – The tempo-setter. The Welsh international got the assist early in the first half, and dictated the rhythm of the encounter. Ramsey’s post-World Cup form has been a large part of the club’s relative success in the second half of the season, particularly in Europe. 

Antoine Mendy – 4

Terem Moffi – 4 – The Nigerian international lived offside, and was flagged on four occasions, including three times in the first half-hour. His poorly timed runs meant that he often wasn’t providing an option for his teammates, and when he did find the ball at his feet, he looked indecisive in his decision-making. Not Moffi’s best day in a Nice shirt. Replaced by Nicolas Pépé (2), who didn’t put a foot right, missing crucial chances and passes. His frustration boiled over, manifesting in a yellow card after an off-the-ball confrontation. The Arsenal loanee’s future at the Allianz Riviera reportedly remains undecided, but he provided Les Aiglons with plenty of reasons not to make his loan move permanent tonight. 

Gaëtan Laborde – 6 – That all of Nice’s chances fell to Laborde wasn’t happenstance, His reading of the play meant he was constantly in the right zone at the right time, and on one occasion, he found the right finish. Even when the momentum shifted, the former Rennes forward was a handy outlet, who rarely put a foot wrong all night. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

According to the French National Association of Supporters, 16 coaches containing fans which were headed to the Azur coast had been stopped and turned back at the Italian-French border. The Italian press had reported that around 1000 fans were present in the nearby Italian town of Sanremo the preceding day. This is reportedly where a large majority of Basel fans will be for the match.

“The local authorities and the ministry indicated that they had to prohibit the movement of supporters on the grounds that there were not enough police to escort 15 coaches along 30km of highway.In reality, the police force was tripled to block the border on the motorway,” said the association on Twitter.

The mayor of Nice and the French interior ministry had justified banning away supporters from attending the match because of “specific circumstances” which meant that they did not have the resources to police what they thought was a match at risk of seeing violence between fans – a now too-common occurrence for away supporters in Ligue 1, Ligue 2, and the Championnat National.

Authorities had cited Emmanuel Macron’s visit to nearby Hérault in the next coming days, as well as “non-declared” organised protests against a controversial pension reform that has been forced through by President over recent months. They claimed that Police resources were already stretched to deal with these issues.

1800 Nice fans travelled to Basel for the first leg (2-2) without impediment or Police convoy.

GFFN | George Boxall

Nice and Basel are level pegging after the first leg (2-2), and with the away goals rule no longer in operation in European competition, Nice will need to win to progress. They are France’s last man standing in European competition this season, and progression is desperately needed in order to remain above the Dutch and Portuguese domestic divisions in the UEFA co-efficient. 

Didier Digard is still without a raft of players, including Jordan Lotomba, Youcef Atal, Sofiane Diop and Mattia Viti. However, Les Aiglons welcome back Pépé after he recovered from a minor injury. He is not expected to start, however, with Digard likely to deploy a 3-5-2 with Gaëtan Laborde and Terem Moffi up front. 

Nice likely lineup v Basel 

Kasper Schmeichel – Dante, Jean-Clair Todibo, Youssouf Ndayishimiye – Melvin Bard, Khéphren Thuram, Hicham Boudaoui, Aaron Ramsey, Antoine Mendy – Gaëtan Laborde, Terem Moffi. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

The scores are level heading into the second leg of the tie at the Allianz Riviera. Whilst Didier Digard’s side are focusing on reaching the semi-finals of the tournament, national and local authorities have been working to control the perceived threat of the travelling Swiss fans. 

Nice’s Mayor, Christian Estrosi, announced last week that he hoped that the relevant authorities would take action to prevent the arrival of Basel fans on the Riviera. It was then announced earlier on Tuesday that Basel’s fans would be essentially banned from the city centre of the Côte d’Azur city, whilst numerous entrances to the Allianz Riviera would be closed. 

However, further measures have now been approved. Local authorities wrote to the Interior Minister, Gérald Darmanin, to request that Basel’s fans be banned from making the trip. That request has now been approved, but there is a feeling that the approval has come too late, with Swiss fans already en route to the South of France, and tickets already purchased. 

In preparation, more security forces have been brought in for the European tie, which is deemed “high risk.” There has already been violence at Nice’s home stadium during this Europa Conference League campaign. The kick-off of Nice’s match against FC Köln was delayed after fights broke out between the opposing sets of fans. Some supporters involved in the violence were hospitalised, with the game almost cancelled. 

Basel fans have also been involved in violence during another visit to France. They were involved in a brawl last year during Basel’s Conference League round of 16 clash against Olympique de Marseille. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle