Auxerre vs. Lille (Saturday, 4.00pm)
© Reuters
Seeking to continue their recent purple patch with a fourth Ligue 1 victory on the bounce, Auxerre welcome Lille to the Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps on Saturday afternoon.
Christophe Pelissier's side scraped a 2-1 success over Coupe de France holders Nantes last time out, while Les Dogues returned to winning ways with victory over Montpellier HSC by the same scoreline.
We say: Auxerre 0-1 Lille
With Lille missing the unmistakeable midfield presence of Andre while Auxerre work around fresh injury concerns in the final third, sparks may not fly between these two sides, although the red-hot David is always capable of coming up with the goods for Lille.
As impressive as AJA's win against Nantes was, Les Canaris were the masters of their own downfall on that day, and Lille - despite their patchy away form - should do enough to take home all three points, assuming that they show no similar propensity for errors.
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Lens vs. Monaco (Saturday, 8.00pm)
© Reuters
One week on from coming up short in their top-of-the-table showdown with Paris Saint-Germain, Lens face another pivotal podium clash against Monaco at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Saturday night.
Franck Haise's 10 men were put to the sword 3-1 by PSG last week, while Les Monegasques' furthered their Champions League ambitions by beating Lorient by the same scoreline.
We say: Lens 2-2 Monaco
There is no doubt in our minds that Saturday's contest should live up to the billing, with Lens proving to be a near-unbreakable force at home while Monaco find the back of the net for fun on the road.
Clement's defence is not the most watertight, though, and one year on from the sides playing out a 2-2 draw at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, we can envisage an identical four-goal stalemate between two attack-minded outfits, as Haise's side retain their grip on third place for the time being.
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Barney Corkhill
