Lille's Fauvergue fears the worst

Nicolas Fauvergue admitted that LOSC Lille Métropole were in "an uncomfortable position" as they prepare for this week's UEFA Champions League visit to Group H winners AC Milan.

Fauvergue daunted
A surprising pair of results on Matchday 5 saw Claude Puel's team slip into third place in the section and they must now get a better result away at Milan than AEK Athens FC manage against RSC Anderlecht in Brussels if they are to grab a place in the UEFA Champions League first knockout round draw on 15 December. "We're in an uncomfortable position," said striker Fauvergue. "We have no choice now - we need all three points in Milan and everyone knows how tough that's going to be. We also have to hope that Anderlecht beat AEK, because it's possible that we could end up with nothing."

Milan form
Indeed Lille, three points ahead of fourth-placed Anderlecht, are not even assured of a UEFA Cup spot and the uncertainty of the situation is playing on the players' minds. As left-back Grégory Tafforeau explained: "We can still go through but we can also finish bottom, and it's difficult when you have everything to gain and everything to lose." Tafforeau is keeping faith, however, not least because Milan's Serie A form has been indifferent of late. "It's not mission impossible for us," he added. "Milan are safe and they're going through a bad patch, so we can still pull this off."

Bitter memories
Ironically, for all the progress Lille have made this year - especially as an attacking force - they find themselves in a similar position to last season. Then, they required victory at Villarreal CF on Matchday 6 to be sure of going through yet left Spain 1-0 losers, a bitter memory the club had hoped to banish by sealing qualification before their daunting final fixture. That has not happened and if things do not go to plan in Milan, Puel and Co could be left with a bad case of déjà vu.