Union St Gilloise v Nice Preview | Union hoping to ensure Ligue 1 side remain winless in Europa League | OneFootball

Union St Gilloise welcome winless Nice to Brussels in the Europa League this evening. The Belgian side gave their chances of qualification for the next round a huge boost last time out with a win over FC Twente, while their French opponents have lost three of their five games and sit second bottom of the table with just two points.

Union are currently in 24th place, the final qualification spot. However, they are within just three points of Olympiacos in 14th, a testament to how tight the league stages have been. The side have struggled to score in the competition, with just three goals in five games. They should have improved on that last time out in the Netherlands but were inefficient in front of goal. Despite Nice’s struggles in the Europa League this season, Union will need to improve their conversion rate. The side are still without a number of players such as Alessio Castro-Montes and Ross Sykes. Ousseynou Niang is one to watch, with the 23-year-old Senegalese winger the key man in the win over Twente last time out.

Nice lost 4-1 to Rangers last time out and followed that up with a 4-1 defeat in the league to Lyon. They did manage a win at the weekend against Le Havre. That 2-1 victory means they sit sixth in the league. Evann Guessand leads the side with six goals this season. The side have not picked up a single point away from home in the competition. They have lost both games, conceding five overall and scoring just once.

Union’s remaining fixtures in the competition are at home to Braga and then away to Rangers, while Nice face Elfsborg away before hosting another Scandinavian side in Bodo/Glimt.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson