This will be the first meeting between Lille and Real Betis, while the French side have won each of their last three UEFA Champions League games against Spanish teams (2-1 v Sevilla in 2021-22, 1-0 v Real Madrid and 3-1 v Atlético de Madrid in 2024-25).

Real Betis are back in the UEFA Champions League for the first time since the 2005-06 season, their only previous appearance in the competition. This is the biggest gap between two campaigns in the competition by a Spanish side, since the 1992-93 re-brand.

This is Lille’s fourth consecutive season in major European football, dating back to 2023-24. It’s their joint longest run, having qualified in four in a row between 2009-10 and 2012-13.

Lille have won eight of their last 15 matches in the UEFA Champions League (D2 L5), two more than in their first 41 games in the competition combined (D15 L20).

Real Betis will be the fifth different team that Manuel Pellegrini has managed in the UEFA Champions League, after Villarreal, Real Madrid, Málaga and Manchester City. Indeed, he will become the first manager to take charge of four different Spanish teams in the competition.

This will be Lille manager Davide Ancelotti’s first game in charge in the UEFA Champions League, following in the footsteps of father Carlo, whose 218 matches in the competition are the most of any coach.

Lille’s 39-year-old striker Olivier Giroud has 24 goals in 64 UEFA Champions League appearances, including hat-tricks for two different clubs (Arsenal and Chelsea). Should he appear for Lille, it will be the first time he’s played for a French team in the competition.

Real Betis’ Isco has previously played 78 games in the UEFA Champions League, winning exactly 50 of those matches. Among midfielders to make 75+ Champions League appearances, his 64.1% win rate is the second-best in history, behind only Joshua Kimmich (70.6%).

Benjamin André has made the most appearances for Lille in the UEFA Champions League (21 games), and has started in 88% of their games in the competition since the 2019-20 edition (21/24).

Real Betis’ Troy Parrott could make his first appearance in the UEFA Champions League – he would be the first player from the Republic of Ireland to play for a non-British side in the competition since Cillian Sheridan for APOEL Nicosia in December 2014 (v Ajax).