LOSC Lille vs Sturm Graz facts

LOSC Lille and Sturm Graz are reunited on Matchday 6 of the UEFA Champions League, the French side having ended the Austrian club's European campaign in 2023/24.

Lille – 4-1 aggregate winners against Sturm in the UEFA Europa Conference League last 16 in March – are unbeaten in their last four matches in this season's league phase, a 2-1 win at Bologna on Matchday 5 giving them ten points.

Sturm were also victorious last time out, 1-0 at home to Girona – their first Champions League points of the season.

Previous meetings

2023/24 Europa Conference League round of 16
Sturm 0-3 Lille
Lille 1-1 Sturm
Jonathan David scored either side of half-time (28, 51) to give the French side a two-goal lead at the Stadion Graz Liebenau before Edon Zhegrova (71) made sure of a convincing first-leg scoreline in favour of Paulo Fonseca's visitors.

Tiago Santos's 43rd-minute opener at the Stade Pierre Mauroy stretched Lille's lead and, though Mika Biereth (45+1) levelled before the break, the French side eased through.

Form guide

LOSC Lille

Record vs Austrian clubs: W2 D1 L1 F6 A3
Home record vs Austrian clubs: W1 D1 L0

Lille's only other matches against Austrian opponents came in the 2021/22 Champions League group stage. A 2-1 defeat at Salzburg on Matchday 2 was followed by a 1-0 home win in a campaign that ended with both sides progressing to the round of 16.

The last of Lille's seven Champions League group appearances came in 2021/22, when they won their section before losing to holders Chelsea in the round of 16 (0-2 a, 1-2 h).

Those were their most recent games in the competition before this season's third qualifying round, when they beat Fenerbahçe 2-1 at home and drew 1-1 away after extra time to progress.

Lille then edged through a tight play-off against Slavia Praha (2-0 h, 1-2 a).

LOSC took part in the Europa Conference League in 2023/24, winning their section unbeaten (W4 D2) and defeating Sturm in the last 16 before losing to Aston Villa in the quarter-finals (1-2 a, 2-1 h aet, 3-4 pens).

The French side have won eight of their last ten home European matches (D2), beating holders Real Madrid 1-0 on Matchday 2, and are unbeaten since that second-leg loss against Chelsea in 2022 – their only home reverse in 14 games (W9 D4), the most recent of which was a 1-1 draw with Juventus on Matchday 4.

Les Dogues – who replaced Fonseca with Bruno Génésio in the summer – were fourth in Ligue 1 in 2023/24, their highest finish since claiming their fourth league title in 2020/21.

Sturm Graz

Record vs French clubs: W2 D2 L5 F8 A17
Away record vs French clubs: W0 D1 L4

A 2-1 defeat at Brest on Matchday 1 this season – the French side's first-ever European game – stretched Sturm's winless run against Ligue 1 clubs to five matches (D2 L3) since a 2-0 home victory against Monaco in the 2000/01 Champions League first group stage.

Last season's draw at Lille is the only time Sturm have avoided defeat away to French opponents in their five fixtures and was also their first goal; they conceded ten in losing the four other games.

This is the fourth time Sturm have featured in the Champions League proper – and the first since 2001/02, their third successive appearance.

That most recent campaign is the only one in which the Austrian side survived the initial group stage. First in their section ahead of Galatasaray, Rangers and Monaco, Sturm were third behind Valencia and Manchester United in the second group stage, though they did end with six points thanks to two wins against Panathinaikos.

Sturm have lost five times in Champions League qualifying since that last group appearance 23 seasons ago. This is the first time they have ever qualified direct for the competition proper.

In 2023/24, Sturm were beaten 7-2 on aggregate by PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League third qualifying round, and then finished third in their UEFA Europa League group. That sent them into the Europa Conference League, where they were eventually eliminated by Lille.

The Austrian club have won only two of their last 15 away European matches (D3 L10) and five of the last 34, a sequence that stretches back to 2009 and includes 19 defeats. They have been beaten at Brest and Borussia Dortmund (0-1) in this season's league phase.

Last season Christian Ilzer's side finished top of the Austrian Bundesliga to end Salzburg's run of ten titles in a row. It was Sturm's fourth league triumph and a first since 2010/11; they also claimed the Austrian Cup for the seventh time, winning a second domestic double.

Ilzer departed for German club Hoffenheim on 15 November with Jürgen Säumel named as his interim replacement.

Links and trivia

Mitchell Bakker and Kjell Scherpen were Netherlands team-mates at Under-19 and U21 level.

Latest news

LOSC Lille

Lille are unbeaten in 14 games (W8 D6) since the 2-0 loss at Sporting CP on Matchday 1 – their fourth successive defeat.

Jonathan David scored twice in a 3-1 win at home to Brest on Friday, the penalty opener his 100th Lille goal.

Les Dogues conceded an added-time equaliser to draw 2-2 at Montpellier on 1 December, David scoring another two penalties.

David scored his 31st goal for Canada in a 3-0 home win against Suriname in the CONCACAF Nations League quarter-finals on 19 November, surpassing Cyle Larin to become his country's record scorer.

Ismaily was a late substitute on Friday, his first appearance since undergoing knee surgery in August.

Angel Gomes missed the weekend win with a calf problem.

Tiago Santos faces several months on the sidelines after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during training on 15 October.

Ethan Mbappé has been out with a thigh injury since 28 September.

Sturm Graz

Jürgen Säumel is unbeaten as Sturm coach, winning three of his four games including Saturday's 3-0 victory at Tirol.

The Austrian champions are unbeaten in ten league games (W7 D3), since a 0-3 home loss to Wolfsberg on 22 September.

On 23 November Sturm were 7-0 winners at home to Austria Klagenfurt, William Bøving – who was also on target on Saturday – and Mika Biereth both scoring twice in the club's biggest league victory since 20 May 2000.

Biereth had scored in three successive matches, four goals in total, before drawing a blank on Saturday.

Erencan Yardımcı was taken off shortly before half-time on Saturday having suffered a head injury.

Goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen, whose last appearance came on 23 November, has undergone knee surgery.

Amady Camara has not played since 19 October due to an infection.