Defending champions Lille will aim to break back into the top six of the Ligue 1 table on Sunday, when they travel to Angers.
After a strong run of form, the visitors were left disappointed by a stalemate with Bordeaux last weekend, while their opponents were narrowly beaten by Lyon.
Match preview
© Reuters
With 29 points from their opening 21 league matches, Angers looked set for an impressive finish in Ligue 1 without the threat of relegation, but they went on to quickly drop down the table following a dip in form.
Les Noirs et Blancs suffered seven straight defeats between late January and mid-March, conceding 13 goals and only managing three goals at the other end, quickly dropping within touching distance of the relegation zone as a result.
Gerard Baticle's side were then able to add a crucial victory to stop their rot, as Sofiane Boufal hit the only goal of the game from the penalty spot in a home contest with Brest, before they faced the tricky test of travelling to Lyon.
Angers remained competitive throughout and twice drew the game level through Mathias Pereira Lage and Boufal, but Tete's 80th-minute goal was too much to overcome as they left empty-handed following a 3-2 defeat.
While their strong start to the season has given Baticle's men a major head start in the fight for survival, they do now boast just a five-point lead over the relegation playoff place and will be desperate to increase that cushion to ensure they are not dragged into the bottom three in the final games of the campaign.
© Reuters
Lille, meanwhile, arrive in a strong run of recent form, having now gone unbeaten since mid-February.
Les Dogues had a particularly underwhelming start to their title defence after an unlikely triumph last season, languishing in mid-table for large parts of the campaign, but they have since turned their fortunes around, earning eight wins and 29 points from their last 15 top-fight outings to move into the race for the top four.
That run includes a five-game unbeaten league streak heading into this weekend, although the latest of those will leave Jocelyn Gourvennec's side disappointed, as they were unable to break the deadlock at home to basement side Bordeaux who were reduced to 10 men after 35 minutes.
Having been eliminated from the Champions League round of 16 by Chelsea, Les Dogues will now have their full focus on a high league finish, but Saturday's stalemate gave their hopes a hit, with Lille now sat seventh.
With fifth-place Nice and fourth-placed Strasbourg both four points ahead, Gourvennec's side will look to ensure they return to winning ways to apply pressure at the weekend.
- L
- L
- L
- L
- W
- L
- D
- W
- W
- D
- W
- D
- W
- W
- D
- L
- W
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Winger Jimmy Cabot should remain Angers' only absentee, while they will welcome key defender Romain Thomas back to action after he served a suspension.
Sofiane Boufal is the key man in attack, and he will continue to lead the line having hit seven goals and provided five assists in Ligue 1 this season.
Stephane Bahoken has tended to be deployed alongside the Moroccan recently, although exciting prospect Mohamed-Ali Cho will be pushing to break into the starting XI.
Key Lille centre-back Sven Botman remains sidelined by an injury, leaving veteran Jose Fonte to command the back line alongside Tiago Djalo.
Rumours have arisen around midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa's future at the club, and he is not expected to play any part at the weekend as a result.
Jonathan David and Renato Sanches should make returns to the starting XI after being reduced to substitute appearances last time out, with David and Jonathan Bamba likely to flank experienced forward Burak Yilmaz, who has somewhat struggled in front of goal this term after helping them win the league title with 16 goals last campaign.
Angers possible starting lineup:
Mandrea; Ebosse, Thomas, Traore; Lage, Bentaleb, Mangani, Doumbia; Fulgini; Boufal, Cho
Lille possible starting lineup:
Jardim; Celik, Fonte, Djalo, Gudmundsson; Andre, Onana; David, Sanches, Bamba; Yilmaz
We say: Angers 1-2 Lille
With their top-four hopes having taken a hit due to the draw with Bordeaux, Lille will be particularly determined to get back to winning ways, and we see them returning home with all three points.
The win over Brest and performance against Lyon do shown signs of encouragement in the Angers camp, but Baticle's team may again fall short against a side full of quality.
Top tip
Sam Varley
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Angers win with a probability of 41.17%. A win for Lille had a probability of 31.44% and a draw had a probability of 27.4%.
The most likely scoreline for an Angers win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.69%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.46%) and 2-0 (7.65%). The likeliest Lille win was 0-1 (9.9%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.94%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.9% likelihood.
