Lille can complete its Champions League comeback and reach the last 16 if it beats Turkish club Trabzonspor at home on Wednesday.
Lille looked doomed after picking up only two points from its first four matches, but an away win at CSKA Moscow made the French club a favorite to qualify from Group B with Inter Milan.
''We owe it to ourselves to win and to carry on in this competition,'' Lille midfielder Florent Balmont said.
A win would also take Trabzonspor through, but a draw would leave the door open for CSKA if the Russians win at Inter, which is out of form after making its worse start in Serie A since 1946-47.
Inter has 10 points, followed by Trabzonspor with six and Lille and CSKA with five each.
The Italians have little to play for, but another setback would increase the pressure on coach Claudio Ranieri.
''Winning means earning money for the club and maintaining (Italy's) UEFA ranking,'' Ranieri said. ''If we don't think about these things we'll lose more squads.''
Italy is already down to two Champions League places and one playoff spot for next season, with Germany having gained the edge in UEFA's rankings.
''We're not under stress for a result but we've got to show what we can do,'' Ranieri said.
Lille surrendered leads in the 2-2 draw against CSKA and the 1-1 draw at Trabzonspor.
''I think we dominated possession over in Turkey, but they got back in the game with a penalty,'' Lille winger Dimitri Payet said. ''On a quality pitch like we have at home, we can play our own game and hopefully qualify for the last 16.''
Lille coach Rudi Garcia is without Brazilian striker Tulio De Melo (torn hamstring) and is waiting to hear about the fitness of midfielders Benoit Pedretti and Idrissa Gueye.
Gueye is making a good recovery from a fractured hand, while Pedretti's recent absence has been down to general wear and tear.
''Nothing specific has shown up in the tests,'' Garcia said. ''It's his back, groin, hip ... he's in a bit of pain everywhere.''
Defender Marko Basa played through pain with a shoulder injury and even scored in Saturday's 3-2 win at Ajaccio, so he should be fine for Wednesday.
English midfielder Joe Cole, who came off 10 minutes into the second half against Ajaccio, and Eden Hazard, who came on for Cole, are both likely to start in midfield, with Moussa Sow alone up front.
Inter's erratic season, meanwhile, just seems to continue. After switching coaches in September - from Gian Piero Gasperini to Ranieri - Inter is still in crisis, including a 1-0 loss at home to Udinese on Sunday that left the Nerazzurri only four points clear of the relegation zone.
Inter had a chance to equalize against Udinese but Giampaolo Pazzini missed a late penalty, slipping as he shot and missing high over the bar.
Against Udinese, Inter captain Javier Zanetti was shown the first red of his 16-year Serie A career.
Inter looks nothing like the squad that won a treble and the Club World Cup last year, and sorely misses Samuel Eto'o.
After the loss to Udinese, Inter president Massimo Moratti entered the changing room to address the crisis in an emergency meeting with Ranieri, technical director Marco Branca and sporting director Piero Ausilio.
Pazzini and Diego Milito are both struggling for goals in the absence of Eto'o.
''They live for goals and if they don't score it becomes a weight to drag around,'' Ranieri said. ''They've just got to stay calm. Pazzini won't sleep for a couple nights because of that penalty.''
