Lille 'quite different' from feisty Villa clash as winning mentality criticised

CommentsSportJohn Townley Aston Villa correspondent11:00, 10 Mar 2026Aston Villa are not expected to play in front of a sell-out crowd at the Decathlon Arena for the Europa League round of 16 first leg against Lille.

Unai Emery’s side return to France for the third time since he took over, having previously played Lille in the 2023/24 Conference League and Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last season.

Villa will be welcomed by a raucous reception from Lille on Thursday night after the unforgettable drama that unfolded at their stadium nearly two years ago, when Emery’s team progressed to the Conference League semi-finals via a penalty shoot-out.

Emi Martinez, who was already on a yellow card, was booked during the shoot-out but was not sent off and went on to save two penalties. The goalkeeper - whose penalty heroics also helped Argentina win the World Cup against France in December 2022 - will be public enemy number one.

When Villa beat Lille on penalties in April 2024, the home side were backed by 47,093 fans in the 50,000-seat stadium. However, as local newspaper La Voix du Nord reports, the club’s situation was different back then.

“Back then, the context was quite different, as Lille were trailing by a goal at kick-off,” they wrote. “The sporting dynamic was also different. In April 2024, Lille had just dominated Lens and Marseille to establish themselves as strong contenders for Champions League qualification. Almost two years later, they do not display the same winning mentality ahead of hosting Aston Villa.”

As of Monday afternoon - three days before the match - 35,000 tickets had been sold, with between 38,000 and 40,000 supporters expected to be in the stadium, including around 2,600 away fans.

Attendances this season have fluctuated between 17,529 spectators for the match against Brann and 23,666 for the game against PAOK, while the first leg of Lille’s knockout play-off against Crvena Zvezda attracted 22,087 fans.

On social media, Lille supporters have been commenting on the expected attendance for the Villa match.

One posted: “Understandable. We're already bored stiff on the weekends, so if on top of that we have to add this during the week... not much excitement about this 'team' and the club in general, which gives us zero emotions…”

Another added: “It's a matter of hype, of the game on offer, of a team close to the fans, of what it gives off. + Over 40K spectators that's still huge. Villa last time something was happening. Here the team doesn't give off much.”

A third said: “I won't hold it against those who are fed up with spending their money to watch this team.”

Lille were held to a draw at home by Lorient last time out, ending a run of three successive wins. However, Bruno Genesio’s side had won just one of the previous 10 games before their current four-match unbeaten run.

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