Baines braced for improved Lille

Everton are expecting a very different Lille side to the one that held the Blues to a 0-0 in France, according to Leighton Baines.



Neither team were at their best back on 23 October at Stade Pierre-Mauroy – not helped by a heavy playing surface – with the Toffees arguably the happier of the two with their point on the road.

Fast forward to the return fixture and Baines is aware of the quality within Les Dogues' ranks.

“We knew it was going to be a tough night,” he recalled in his pre-match press conference.

“Lille are a good side and we went there and got what we expected in that sense.

“I think both sides will look to improve on their levels of performance from that night. We certainly know we can play better. Knowing that we went away from home, got a point but can still play better is good.

“But we will also expect a better Lille side than the one we faced out there and that is what we will prepare for.

“It will be another tough game but a really enjoyable night at Goodison Park.”

The carrot dangling at the end of the 90 minutes is the chance to all but seal progress into the knockout stages, but again Baines is taking nothing for granted.

He added: “We have got ourselves in a good position and having two of the last three games left to play at Goodison is great. We would expect to win those games so we are very happy with the position we are in.

“There are some really exciting ties available if you can get out of the group. But it is a really long competition so you don’t want to look too far ahead.

“We are excited about where we are at the moment and we will look to consolidate that position against Lille.”