Looking to give their survival hopes a major boost, Montpellier HSC will welcome Champions League-chasing Lyon to Stade de la Mosson-Mondial 98 on Sunday afternoon for a Ligue 1 battle.
La Paillade have suffered damaging back-to-back defeats most recently, whilst Les Gones are aiming to find some consistency following a managerial change in January.
Match preview
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After five straight campaigns of mid-table finishes in the top flight of French football, Montpellier are staring the possibility of an unthinkable relegation to Ligue 2 in the face as the season reaches its business end, despite a slight upturn in results at the beginning of 2025.
Following a seven-game winless run across all competitions, La Paillade managed consecutive wins in Ligue 1 at the end of January - beating both Monaco and Toulouse - but Sunday's hosts have since returned to their worrying ways, suffering 2-0 defeats against Lens and Strasbourg.
Tasting victory in just two of their last 11 matches, it is hardly surprising that Montpellier find themselves rooted to the very bottom of the Ligue 1 standings after 21 contests of the top-flight term, six points behind Nantes in the relative safety of 15th spot at this stage.
Whilst a record of 20 goals scored in 21 games is hardly anything to write home about, La Paillade have more pressing issues to contend with in their backline, with Jean-Louis Gasset's troops shipping a staggering 48 Ligue 1 goals so far, more than any other side in the division.
A number of high-profile January exits have not helped Montpellier's fight to avoid the dreaded drop this term, with Arnaud Nordin and Akor Adams moving to Mainz 05 and Sevilla respectively over the winter, meaning that La Paillade have lost their two most potential attackers.
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After a highly-concerning six-game winless run to kickstart 2025, Lyon have welcomed former Lille boss Paulo Fonseca to the managerial hotseat, with the Portuguese head coach looking for some comforts back on the Ligue 1 sidelines following an ill-fated tenure at AC Milan.
The 51-year-old has experienced a mixed start to life in the dugout at Groupama Stadium, losing his maiden match away at Marseille on February 2, seven days prior to the thumping of Reims last Sunday, when the French giants recorded their joint-largest victory of the campaign.
Influential off the right flank during last weekend's battering of Reims, Rayan Cherki found the net and provided two assists on the afternoon for Lyon, with the Premier League-linked star notching up 10 goal contributions from 17 league appearances this term at the age of 21.
Striving for back-to-back league successes for the first time since early December, Les Gones are currently occupying sixth spot in the Ligue 1 rankings ahead of Sunday's trip to whipping boys Montpellier, four points behind Monaco in the lowest of the Champions League positions.
Key for Lyon during the past two campaigns - whilst also playing an active part in the division's Golden Boot race against Kylian Mbappe - Alexandre Lacazette has failed to hit his usual Ligue 1 heights so far, scoring just six goals across 18 top-flight appearances.
Team News
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Following the departure of Nordin over the winter window, Montpellier are short of options in attacking areas, especially because of recent injury problems.
However, there are also issues for La Paillaide to contend with at the back, with the likes of Christopher Jullien and Issiaga Sylla sidelined until the end of February.
Montpellier's backline options have been further reduced by the absence of Nikola Maksimovic, who is out for the remainder of the campaign because of a hamstring issue.
The leading marksman for Lyon in Ligue 1 so far this term, former Arsenal striker Lacazette is currently out of action owing to a knee injury.
After keeping their first clean sheet in four matches in the demolition of Reims last time out, Les Gones should stick with a centre-back pairing of Clinton Mata and Moussa Niakhate.
Montpellier HSC possible starting lineup:
Lecomte; Meite, Mouanaga, Sagnan; Tchato, Fayad, Chotard, Sainte-Luce, Savanier; Coulibaly, Delort
Lyon possible starting lineup:
Perri; Kumbedi, Mata, Niakhate, Tagliafico; Matic, Tessmann; Cherki, Tolisso, Nuamah; Mikautadze
We say: Montpellier HSC 0-3 Lyon
After back-to-back defeats most recently, bottom side Montpellier will be dreading the arrival of top-four hopefuls Lyon on Sunday afternoon.
Les Gones swept Reims aside with ease last weekend, and we feel that it could be a similar story for the Champions League chasers this time around.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
