Garcia reins in enthusiastic Dogues

Rudi Garcia has warned his free-scoring LOSC Lille Métropole players to be wary of a backlash from eliminated SK Slavia Praha as they gear up to host the Czech club in UEFA Europa League Group B, needing a win to guarantee their progress.

Permutations
Les Dogues have scored four goals in each of their last three league games – defeating Olympique Lyonnais, AS Saint-Etienne and AS Monaco FC – since losing 3-1 to section leaders Valencia CF on Matchday 5. That has elevated Lille to third in Ligue 1 and fuelled confidence ahead of an encounter with a team they beat 5-1 in October, their biggest away win in European competition. Level on seven points with Genoa CFC, Lille will be assured of a round of 32 berth provided they match the result the Serie A outfit achieve against Valencia in Italy.

'Great run'
"We're on a great run but we know we won't score four goals every game. I've done everything I can since our performance in Monaco to keep the players' feet on the ground," said Garcia, who will be without the injured Mathieu Debuchy. "The game is very important. We'll give everything to go through because there might be big games ahead. They will aim to make amends for the [5-1] scoreline so we'll be very wary of them."

'Going well'
Gervinho struck twice in Prague on 1 October and has also registered in his last three league matches, but may not get the chance to add to his tally as Garcia is considering resting the 22-year-old for Sunday's meeting with Le Mans UC 72. "Everything is going well at the moment," said Gervinho, the scorer of four UEFA Europa league goals this term. "We want it to continue until the winter break."

Second-half performance
Those sentiments are echoed by strike partner Eden Hazard. "We have put the Valencia setback aside," said the Belgian international. "We'll have to give our all to overcome Slavia again, but we can take inspiration from the second half of that match [when Lille scored five times] and the way we play at home in Europe." Les Dogues are unbeaten at the Stade Lille Métropole since losing 1-0 to Manchester United FC on 20 February 2007 in the UEFA Champions League first knockout round.