Samuel Umtiti has struggled to break into Paulo Fonseca’s Lille OSC side since his summer arrival, however, he looks set to feature alongside Bafodé Diakité against Slovan Bratislava in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday night.
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)
