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Barclay's Premier League club Liverpool FC will face yet another French club when they travel to take on LOSC Lille on Thursday in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League round of 16 tie. Liverpool faced Lille's Ligue One rival Olympique Lyonnais in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League this season, earning a 1-1 draw in France after losing 2-1 at home. Lille boast an impressive home record in European competitions having lost just one of their last 16 home matches. Kickoff between the two is set for 19:00 local time at the Stadium Lille Metropole in Lille, France.

Lille's last outing in France's Ligue One came over the weekend when they were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw against St. Etienne. Lille had been in third place going into the weekend but the draw saw them drop to fifth place in the table on 48 points. Just four points separate first place Bordeaux from sixth place Auxerre, setting up a tight race for the title in France. Liverpool's hopes of returning to the top four in England and the Champions League next season suffered a devastating setback on Monday evening when the Reds lost 1-0 to a slumping Wigan Athletic. Hugo Rodallega scored the only goal of the match in the 35th minute as the Latics boosted themselves away from the relegation zone and prevented Liverpool from taking over fourth place.

Thursday's kickoff between Lille and Liverpool will be the first competitive meeting between the two sides, though both clubs have extensive experience playing against teams from their opponent's country. Lille are 2-3-3 in their eight clashes against English clubs, six of those matches coming against Manchester United. Lille are 1-2-1 at home against English opposition and went 1-2-3 against the Red Devils. Liverpool meanwhile have encountered French opponents 24 times in club history earning a 14-2-8 record while going 5-1-6 in France. The Reds had won four straight matches in France prior to their 1-1 draw with Lyon during this season's Champions League group stage.

Both clubs will be looking for a positive start to their round of 16 tie in the Europa League. Lille will be hoping they can pick up a win and have a lead to protect when they travel to Anfield for the return leg. Liverpool know that any positive result will benefit them as they will have home field advantage in the return leg at Anfield where the Reds are 9-1-2 against French opponents.