Three players to watch from the Ligue 1 side ahead of Europa

Lille v Everton FC: Three players to watch from the Ligue 1 side ahead of Europa League tie

A profile of the three Lille players the Blues will have to watch out for ahead of Thursday's European game


Russia's Sergei Ignashevich battles for the ball with Belgium's Divock Origi

Everton FC travel to Lille on Thursday with an estimated 10,000 Blues expected to make a right racket in the French city.

It's easy to forget there's a game of football to be played – and a pretty important one to Everton's Europa League ambitions.

With Roberto Martinez's side topping the group, a positive result against the Ligue 1 side will see them edge even nearer to qualification for the last 32.

But Lille are a decent side. Strong in defence and with talented – if eccentric – manager Rene Girard, their current eighth-place position belies their ability. Instead, the fact they qualified for the Champions League last season, only to be eliminated by Porto, deserves respect.

Here are the three players to watch from Les Dogues .

Divock Origi
Who else? Origi shot to prominence during the World Cup, forcing his way into the Belgium starting 11 after a few strong substitute appearances. He has since signed for Merseyside rivals Liverpool, and has been Lille's best player this season.

Strong, quick and with surprisingly good technique, Origi can either lead the line, play alongside a partner in a front two or even on the left of a 4-3-3. That versatility makes him an asset to Girard, who has utilised him in all three positions so far this season.

He's scored five goals for Lille this season, and averages over 1.5 shots a game. With eight key passes and nine dribbles as well, he is very much the creative outlet for Lille.

Vincent Enyeama
On September 15, 2013, Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama conceded his second goal of the game against Dario Cvitanich in Lille's 2-0 home defeat to Nice.

On December 8, 2013, Enyeama finally conceded another league goal away to Bordeaux. His incredible run of consecutive clean sheets – 11 in total – has finally ended.

Much of Lille's defensive solidity involved their excellent defenders, but Enyeama proved to be an impenetrable wall when needed. A superb shot stopper and a brilliant commander of his area. The goalkeeper started this season just as well with five clean sheets in his first six league games – and still only concedes an average of 0.7 goals per game – but has let in five in his last two.

Rio Mavuba
It is no surprise the recent poor form of Lille – three defeats in the past four – have coincided with the absence of their captain. The 30-year-old holding midfielder, who has also had spells at Bordeaux and Villarreal, is crucial to Lille's set up.

He missed two of those three defeats – away to Nice and Lyon – with his absence felt both in terms of ability and leadership. He averages 2.1 tackles per game this season, as well as 2.4 interception, but he also is a good organiser and keeps the midfield tight and disciplined.

He is very much the defensive shield for the back four, and covers a lot of ground when Lille utilise the diamond formation. His powerful style will make for an interesting battle with Ross Barkley, potentially.

Source: Echo