For only the third time in their history, Clermont and Lille will square off as the Ligue 1 campaign resumes for both sides on Wednesday at Stade Gabriel Montpied.
CF63 are winless in five successive domestic encounters, sitting 10th in the table, while Les Dogues are only two points behind Lorient for a place in Europe next season, losing just once in their last six games of this competition.
Match preview
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Clermont return to domestic action this week, having pocketed 19 points to date, six more than they acquired after 15 matches a season ago.
Three of their five wins have come at Stade Gabriel Montpied this season, although they have not been particularly sharp along the backline in Clermont, conceding more goals at home than any Ligue 1 side on the current campaign (35 in 18 games).
Heading into this encounter, Pascal Gastien has seen his side concede in eight successive domestic fixtures, scoring just a single goal in all but two of those games.
They have captured three of their last 12 Ligue 1 affairs, though each victory came against a promoted team (Toulouse, Auxerre and Ajaccio).
They have picked up five points when trailing at the half, winning all four of their 2022-23 Ligue 1 contests in which they have scored multiple times.
After 15 matches, CF63 have given away seven penalty kicks, tied with Montpellier for the most this season and second only to Bundesliga side Bochum (nine) in the top five European leagues.
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Following a disappointing 2021-22 campaign, Lille have put themselves in contention for a European place next season.
Les Nordistes have found the back of the net in 12 consecutive home fixtures in Ligue 1, though they have lost three of their previous four league fixtures away from home.
During the international break, Paulo Fonseca's men looked sharp, winning four of their five friendlies, including an impressive 4-1 triumph on the road versus Serie A leaders Napoli last Wednesday.
Lille have only been shut out in one of their road fixtures so far in this season's competition, scoring three or more goals on three occasions.
Even though they have not had much trouble finding the back of the net, Les Dogues have collected the ball out of their own net a lot, conceding the second-most goals among the top 10 teams in Ligue 1 so far this season (48).
Les Lillois have dropped eight points in 2022-23 when scoring the opening goal and have not found the back of the net in the second half of their last three domestic encounters.
Team News
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Komnen Andric, the leading goalscorer for Clermont this season, had the only strike for them in their previous home fixture in Ligue 1, though he missed a first-half penalty in that encounter, while his teammate Grejohn Kyei also failed to score from 12 yards away.
Elbasan Rashani, who had eight strikes in the previous domestic campaign, has only scored once after 15 matches, two of the three clean sheets from Mory Diaw have occurred at home, while Maximiliano Caufriez has started in all but three of their domestic outings since joining this team on loan from Spartak Moscow at the end of August.
Mehdi Zeffane will need a few more weeks to recover from a calf strain, and Neto Borges is out until early January because of a knee injury.
Jonathan David, who leads Lille with nine goals, has not found the back of the net domestically since notching a brace in a 3-0 victory over Strasbourg in mid-October, Lucas Chevalier picked up his third clean sheet of the campaign when his side defeated Angers 1-0 before the World Cup break, while Tiago Djalo had the only goal on that occasion, his second of the season.
Leo Jardim had a shutout the last time they faced Clermont a season ago, as David, Jonathan Bamba, Edon Zhegrova and former defender Zeki Celik all scored, helping them triumph 4-0.
Gabriel Gudmundsson remains out due to a groin strain, while Leny Yoro might be available despite previously sustaining a foot injury.
Clermont possible starting lineup:
Diaw; Caufriez, Wieteska, Seidu; Allevinah, Magnin, Gastien, Bela; Kyei, Rashani, Andric
Lille possible starting lineup:
Chevalier; Gudmundsson, Djalo, Fonte, Alexsandro; Andre, Gomes; Weah, Cabella, Bamba; David
We say: Clermont 1-2 Lille
The Clermont backline have often looked a little unhinged when under pressure, and they can expect to face their share of that against an aggressive unit in Lille who have some quality in the attacking third and can make their scoring chances count.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
