LOSC v Ajax facts

LOSC Lille can no longer finish in the top two in Group H and need a win against Ajax – who are locked in a three-way tussle at the top of the table – to have any hope of claiming third place and a spot in the UEFA Europa League.

• The Dutch champions were 3-0 winners at home to the French club on Matchday 1 in the clubs' first UEFA encounter thanks to goals from Quincy Promes (18), Edson Álvarez (50) and Nicolás Tagliafico (62).

• Ajax now have seven points, the same number as Chelsea and Valencia, and cannot be eliminated or go through on Matchday 5.

• LOSC have only one point and will be confirmed in fourth place if they do not win against Ajax.

Form guide
LOSC Lille
• After losing in Amsterdam, LOSC were beaten 2-1 at home by Chelsea before a 1-1 draw against Valencia that extended their run without a home victory in the UEFA Champions League proper to ten matches. They were beaten 4-1 in Spain on Matchday 4.

• Second in Ligue 1 last term, this is LOSC's sixth appearance in the UEFA Champions League group stage and their first since 2012/13. Only one of those previous five campaigns has extended into the knockout rounds, in 2006/07; seven years ago they finished bottom of a section including Bayern München, Valencia and BATE Borisov.

• Les Dogues lost all three home games in 2012/13; their last home victory in the UEFA Champions League, group stage to final, was a 3-1 defeat of AEK Athens on Matchday 3 in 2006/07. Their subsequent record is D4 L6.

• LOSC have not won a home European match since a 2-0 defeat of Copenhagen in the UEFA Champions League play-offs in August 2012; their record since is D5 L6.

• LOSC's most recent foray into continental competition came in 2016/17 and lasted only one tie, Gabala of Azerbaijan running out 2-1 aggregate winners in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round (1-1 h, 0-1 a).

• The French club have never beaten a Dutch side in three previous attempts; their only contests before this season came in the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League round of 32, when they drew 2-2 at home to PSV Eindhoven before a 3-1 away defeat.

Ajax
• Having kicked off Group H with that 3-0 win against LOSC, Ajax won by the same scoreline at Valencia on Matchday 2. They were then beaten 1-0 at home by Chelsea before a remarkable 4-4 draw in London last time out, in which Ajax let slip a 4-1 lead and had two players, Daley Blind and Joël Veltman, sent off.

• Ajax went all the way from the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round to the semi-finals in 2018/19, losing on away goals to Tottenham in the last four after conceding six minutes into added time to go down 3-2 at home and bow out after a 3-3 aggregate draw.

• Erik ten Hag's team lost only two of their 18 European matches in 2018/19 (W10 D6), when they became the first side in European Cup history to reach the semi-finals having come through three qualifying rounds and the first Dutch club to get to the UEFA Champions League last four since PSV Eindhoven in 2004/05.

• Champions of the Netherlands for the 34th time in 2018/19 – their first league title since 2014 – Ajax also lifted the Dutch Cup to claim their eighth domestic double, and a first since 2002.

• They kicked off this season's UEFA Champions League in the third qualifying round, seeing off Greek side PAOK 5-4 on aggregate after a 2-2 away draw and a 3-2 home win secured by an 85th-minute Dušan Tadić penalty.

• A goalless draw at APOEL in the first leg of the play-offs ended Ajax's run of scoring in 14 successive European matches, but a 2-0 home win booked their group return. This season's results have stretched their unbeaten away run in Europe to 13 matches (W6 D7).

• Ajax last faced French opposition in the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round, drawing 1-1 at Nice and 2-2 at home to bow out on away goals. They have not won away to a Ligue 1 club in seven matches (D2 L5), since a 2-0 success at Lyon in the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League first group stage.

Links and trivia
• David Neres and Gabriel were team-mates in Brazil's Under-20 side in 2017.

• Dušan Tadić and José Fonte were Southampton team-mates between July 2014 and January 2017.

Latest news

LOSC Lille
• LOSC have won five of their seven home league matches in 2019/20, most recently beating Bordeaux 3-0 on 26 October. They dropped points only against Nîmes on 6 October (2-2) and Metz on 9 November (0-0).

• LOSC's run without an away victory has been extended to 13 matches in all competitions (D5 L8). Les Dogues have picked up only two points from their six Ligue 1 away fixtures in 2019/20, and lost 2-0 at Paris Saint-Germain on Friday.

• Summer signing Victor Osimhen scored in LOSC's first six home games of the season in all competitions, eight goals in all. His goal at Valencia on Matchday 4 is his only one in his last six LOSC appearances, home and away. He missed Friday's encounter with Paris through suspension.

• Osimhen was the first player to score five goals or more in his first five Ligue 1 games since Mario Balotelli hit six in September/October 2016.

• Osimhen was on target as Nigeria beat Benin (2-1) and Lesotho (4-2) in CAF Africa Cup of Nations qualifying, scoring one goal in the first game and two in the second, in which he also provided two assists.

• José Fonte played in Portugal's wins against Lithuania (6-0) and away to Luxembourg as the holders qualified for UEFA EURO 2020.

• Zeki Çelik and Yusuf Yazıcı, a late substitute, helped Turkey claim a 0-0 draw at home to Iceland on 14 November to reach next summer's finals.  

• Timothy Weah has not played since sustaining a leg injury in training on 25 August.

• Renato Sanches (hamstring) had not played since Matchday 2 before coming on as a second-half substitute at Valencia, and also came off the bench in Paris on Friday.

• LOSC staff members João Sacramento, the opposition observer, and goalkeeping coach Nuno Santos have left to join José Mourinho at Tottenham. They have provisionally been replaced by Fernand Da Cruz and former LOSC goalkeeper Grégory Wimbée respectively.

• LOSC will mark their 75th anniversary on 30 November with a celebration at the Stade Pierre Mauroy when the club's all-time team, voted for by fans, will be unveiled.

Ajax
• Siem de Jong's next appearance in UEFA club competition will be his 50th.

• The Matchday 3 loss at home to Chelsea is Ajax's only defeat in all competitions this season (W17 D5). Their previous loss had also come at home to a London club, against Tottenham in the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg on 8 May.

• The Amsterdammers have won 12 of their 14 Eredivisie fixtures so far this season (D2), including Saturday's 4-1 success at home to Heracles.

• Ajax have scored 27 goals in winning their last eight league fixtures, keeping five clean sheets and conceding only four goals.

• Ajax have scored four goals in each of their last five matches in all competitions.

• Quincy Promes has 12 goals in his last 13 Ajax appearances, including two on Saturday.

• Donny van de Beek has four goals in his last five matches for Ajax.

• Promes, Joël Veltman, Daley Blind and Van de Beek were all in the Netherlands side that drew 0-0 in Northern Ireland on 16 November to qualify for UEFA EURO 2020. Promes was the only one to feature in the 5-0 home win against Estonia three days later, setting up the first goal of Georginio Wijnaldum's hat-trick.

• Dušan Tadić scored a penalty and set up another goal as Serbia drew 2-2 against Ukraine in UEFA EURO 2020 quaifying on 17 November. He had also provided an assist in a 3-2 win over Luxembourg three days earlier.

• Sergiño Dest made his competitive debut for the United States in a CONCACAF Nations League match against Canada on 15 November, setting up the first goal in a 4-1 victory.

• Edson Álvarez scored as Mexico defeated Panama 3-0 in a CONCACAF Nations League match on 16 November.

• David Neres picked up a knee injury during Ajax's 4-0 win against Utrecht on 10 November, and is not expected play again until early 2020.

• Ajax picked up the Dutch Super Cup, the Johan Cruijff Trophy, on 27 July when they defeated last season's Eredivisie runners-up PSV Eindhoven 2-0 thanks to goals from Kasper Dolberg – now at Nice – and Blind.