Lille v Everton: Martinez´s men look to continue recovery

Everton will hope to strengthen their position at the top of Group H when they travel to Lille in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night.

Roberto Martinez’s side made a dominant start to their European campaign with a 4-1 home victory over Bundesliga team Wolfsburg last month.

But that result preceded a run of five matches without a win in all competitions – including a 1-1 draw with Kuban Krasnodar, where veteran striker Samuel Eto’o kept the Premier League team’s European challenge on course with a late equaliser.

Injuries undoubtedly played their part in that sequence but key figures returned to Martinez’s line-up for Saturday’s league game against Aston Villa on Merseyside, and the impact was clear to see.

Right-back Seamus Coleman came back from a hamstring problem to net in a 3-0 win, with England international Ross Barkley also influential on his first appearance of the season following knee ligament damage.

Barkley’s midfield colleague James McCarthy was also back in action following a muscle strain and he picked up where he left off after collecting Everton’s player of the month award for September.

“We’ve had a sticky enough start – we wanted to get more points on the board but unfortunately results haven’t gone on our way,” McCarthy told Everton’s official website.

“But now we’re looking to kick on – it was a big win at the weekend and we hope to kick-start the season from here.”

While Martinez will look to his fit-again stars to fire on the European stage, one of Lille’s major threats will come from a player set to become far more acquainted with Merseyside football.

Teenage striker Divock Origi was signed by Liverpool from the Ligue 1 outfit on the back of impressive showings for Belgium in the FIFA World Cup before being immediately loaned back as part of the deal.

A return of three league goals and one in Europe – a penalty to secure a 1-1 draw at Wolfsburg last time out that ensured Everton remained the only team in the group with a victory to their name – suggests Origi’s focus remains firmly on the here and now.

“For the moment, I am thinking about Lille, not Liverpool,” he told UEFA.com. “Our Europa League section could be a Champions League one, given the high-level teams. We know it’ll be the small details that make a difference.”

Lille are aiming to bounce back from consecutive Ligue 1 losses against Lyon and Guingamp and they head into a contest that could well rest on the exploits of two powerful Belgian strikers, with Origi’s compatriot Romelu Lukaku set to lead the line for Everton.

“I admit I look up at [Lukaku],” Origi added. “I admire what he has done in English football so far.”