Lille vs HNK Rijeka Prediction: Will Paulo Fonseca's team manage to confirm the difference in class?

French Lille begin their European Cup campaign with a match against Croatian Rijeka. Will Paulo Fonseca's team manage to confirm the difference in class by achieving a confident victory in a home game? Let's find out and pick up a few betting options.

Lille finished only fifth in the French league, failing to qualify for the Champions League and the Europa League. However, winning the Conference League is not a bad task, given Lille's lack of major European Cup achievements. Recall that the club's only international title is the victory in the now non-existent Intertoto Cup 2004.

In the new season, Lille managed to hold two matches. First, the team drew 1:1 away against Nice, then convincingly beat Nantes 2:0.

As the fourth Croatian team in the last championship, Rijeka started from the second round of the Conference League qualification. The Croatians were lucky with the draw, and on their way to the meetings with Lille, they won all four games against Kosovo Dukagjini and Faroese B36 Torshavn. In those four games, Rijeka scored 12 times.

In the new national championship season, Rijeka is also performing well so far - three wins in four games and a goal difference of 12:2.

Paulo Fonseca plays attacking football, often preventing his teams from getting results. The Portuguese specialist did not particularly succeed in Roma, confirmed by the first season at the head of Lille and only fifth place in Ligue 1. This season, Rijeka is an experienced European Cup fighter who also shows high efficiency in attack. Why can't the Croatians score in France? At least, the quotes for a Rijeka goal seem very overrated. At the same time, Lille is superior and, even after conceding, will surely get the win.