Lille entertain Angers in Ligue 1 on Wednesday with the hosts looking to move top of the table.
The visitors, meanwhile, have performed above expectations this season, and can move as high as fifth by upsetting Lille with a win.
Match preview
© Reuters
Lille were desperately unlucky not to earn a Champions League spot last season having been one point behind third-placed Rennes at the time all French football was curtailed due to COVID-19, but it certainly appears to have motivated Christophe Galtier's side this time around.
Having navigated their way through a tough Europa League group, Lille are currently sandwiched between Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain at the top of the Ligue 1 table having remained unbeaten in their last seven league games.
Galtier's side possess goals across the pitch, with Burak Yilmaz, Jonathan Bamba and Yusuf Yazici all sitting on five or more league goals already this season. Only PSG, meanwhile, have conceded fewer goals in the league, highlighting Lille's defensive resilience.
While Angers have had an excellent start to the season themselves, Lille fans will be expecting a comfortable win, which could take them top of the league depending on how Lyon fare against Lens.
© Reuters
Angers appear to be establishing themselves as an extremely settled Ligue 1 outfit nowadays, with Stephane Moulin's side building on last season's 11th-placed finish by currently lying just one point behind Marseille in fifth.
The club have never competed in European football in their entire history, so if Moulin could somehow navigate his side to a Europa League qualification spot, the 53-year-old would undoubtedly be considered a club legend for eternity.
There is a long way to go before Angers fans can realistically begin dreaming of that, though, with a top-half finish probably a more realistic expectation. Much will depend on the form of top goalscorer Stephane Bahoken and tricky winger Angelo Fulgini, with the duo carrying the majority of Angers' attacking threat.
Moulin will be hoping to tighten the defence up a little, too, with only Montpellier of the other sides currently in the top half conceding more goals so far this season.
Lille Ligue 1 form: DWWWDW
Lille form (all competitions): WLWWDW
Angers Ligue 1 form: WWDLDW
Team News
© Reuters
Lille are likely to be without Renato Sanches, Adama Soumaoro, Luiz Araujo and Jeremy Pied through injury for the visit of Angers.
Galtier has plenty of choices in offence, with record signing Jonathan David competing against the likes of Yilmaz and Yazici for a start.
Angers, meanwhile, will be without Souleyman Doumbia after the left-back picked up his fifth yellow card of the season in the win against Marseille.
Romain Thomas, Sada Thioub, Rachid Alioui, Ibrahim Amadou and Sofiane Boufal are unlikely to make the trip to Lille due to injury, with Enzo Ebosse ruled out for the rest of the campaign with a knee injury.
Lille possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Celik, Fonte, Botman, Mandava; Ikone, Andre, Soumare, Bamba; Yazici, Yilmaz
Angers possible starting lineup:
Bernardoni; Manceau, Traore, Thomas, Capelle; Coulibaly, Mangani; Thioub, Fulgini, Lage; Diony
We say: Lille 3-1 Angers
We can envisage an entertaining encounter in Lille, with the hosts giving themselves a good chance of moving top of the league with a victory.
The likes of Yilmaz and Yazici will be looking to pick up from where they left off prior to the winter break, with the attacking Turkish duo in scintillating form.
Top betting tip
Brett Curtis
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 Lille win with a probability of 57.51%. A draw had a probability of 23.8% and a win for Angers had a probability of 18.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Lille win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.09%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (11.19%) and 2-1 (9.62%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.25%), while for an Angers win it was 0-1 (6.59%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 4.8% likelihood.
