5:55 pm: Lille have released their starting eleven
5:40 pm: Sarkaria and Pyreth Storm
Sturm coach Christian Ilzer fielded the following starting eleven against “Dakken” in Liebena:
Jaros; Gazibegovic, Affengruber, Wüthrich, Lavallée, Schnegg; Harvat, Stankovic, Kittishvili; Sarkaria, Pyreth
5:15 pm: Check history books
SK Sturm will be participating in the 30th European Cup season. Graz are facing Lille for the fifth time in the Round of 16. How Blackies performed You are reading here!
3pm: About 200 French fans are at the Cross
Around 200 Lille fans are in Cross. None of them are high-risk fans. Due to the number of away fans, no organized fan parades are expected. The club published records from Cross:
1.45 pm: Security area from 1 pm to midnight
The state police headquarters has set up a security zone around the stadium to be in effect from 1 pm to midnight. In this area, police can turn people away and ban entry if they pose a danger. If you enter the security area anyway, you are committing an administrative offence, which can result in a fine of up to 1,000 euros. You can read here where the safety section applies.
1.20pm: Lille will have to do without regular players
Lille will have to do without Nabil Bentaleb in Graz. The Frenchman is regularly used in central midfield but was suspended for today's game. Lille coach Paulo Fonseca said of the Graz team: “They work a lot, switch well, press high and have shown what they can do even against strong teams. It will be a tough game against a tough opponent.”
12.40 pm: Hutter and Co acted as advisers
The Cross team received tips from Monaco coach Adi Hutter and his assistant coaches Christian Beintinger and Klaus Schmidt. – They know Sturm's current enemy very well. “The home game is definitely important for Sturm. “You have to travel to Lille with a start because it's going to be very difficult to live there,” Hutter said. You can read more about it here.
12.05 pm: Jonathan David is on the notepads of several top clubs
One of the many key players in the French team hails from Canada, has a market value of 50 million euros and is being chased by top European clubs: Jonathan David has 17 goals and seven assists in 33 competitive games this season. Read the attacker's profile here.
12:00pm: No training at Lille Stadium
Coincidentally, the French did not complete any final practice at the Liebenau Stadium, and there were no spectators at the Mercure Arena. The crew traveled directly from Graz-Thalerhof Airport to their hotel yesterday Wednesday.
11.35: Frankovski leads the game again with Cross
Today's match will be refereed by Bartos Frankovski. The Pole has already refereed a Sturm game in Kroos once, when the Black and Whites lost 3-1 against Ajax Amsterdam in the second Champions League qualifier of 2018.