Lille look to home comforts

After a goalless draw away at FC Basel 1893 in the first leg, LOSC Lille Métropole return to the Stade Villenueve d'Ascq looking to make home advantage count in the return leg. But they may find the visitors more match-fit than at St. Jakob Park, where Basel were playing their first competitive match for two months after a winter break in Switzerland.

Before last week's goalless draw, Basel had faced French opposition on just one previous occasion, 40 years ago during the 1964/65 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup when they were drawn against RC Strasbourg in the second round. French international winger Gerard Hausser was the outstanding player over the two legs. He scored the only goal in Strasbourg's 1-0 first-leg away win and then helped himself to two more as the French side defeated Basel 5-2 in the second leg to advance 6-2 on aggregate.

More recently, both Basel and Lille have impressed in the UEFA Champions League. Lille reached the first group stage in 2001/02, and proved a difficult side to overcome. They finished third behind Manchester United FC and RC Deportivo La Coruña, but were beaten just twice in their six matches.

The following season, Basel became the first Swiss club to reach the second group stage of the competition after finishing runners-up to Valencia CF in the first group stage. Basel advanced at the expense of both Liverpool FC and Olympiacos CFP, despite suffering a few late scares as Liverpool staged a three-goal second-half comeback on the final matchday in Switzerland.

In the second group stage, Basel defeated Juventus FC and Deportivo, but were still eliminated on head-to-head results after finishing level on seven points with both sides. Manchester United finished top of a very competitive Group D. Both Lille and Basel, however, had punched above their weight on European club competition's biggest stage and had left a lasting impression on some of the continent's biggest clubs.