In-form Montpellier HSC are out to continue their impressive unbeaten streak when they entertain visitors Lorient at Stade de la Mosson.
Undefeated in their past five matches, La Paillade are full of confidence and eyeing an unlikely European qualification spot.
Match preview
© Reuters
Montpellier are coming into this match off the back of a 0-0 away draw with Reims on Sunday, as they were unable to find a way past their mid-table hosts.
However, in the three weeks before that match they had bagged four consecutive victories over Dijon, Strasbourg, Lyon and Rennes.
This eye-catching string of results has them sitting in a lofty eighth spot in Ligue 1, just two points below sixth-placed Lens in the Europa League slots.
Montpellier have scored the fifth-most goals in the competition this season, largely thanks to the efforts of Gaetan Laborde, Andy Delort and Stephy Mavididi.
Their opponents Lorient have not been as prolific, with only 33 goals scored in 2020-21, while shipping a whopping 51 goals at the other end. Only Nimes, sitting in 18th on the ladder, have a worse defence in the competition.
© Reuters
Still, it has been not been a completely nightmarish campaign to date for Les Merlus considering they were only promoted to the top flight in August.
Manager Christophe Pelissier has done a fair job with the Ligue 2 winners but they must continue to pick up points in the weeks ahead if they are to avoid relegation straight back down to the second division.
Positively for Lorient they won their last league match, a 2-1 result over Saint-Etienne at home, which snapped a three-game winless stretch.
However, Lorient's away form has been dire this season with just a solitary victory on their travels.
Historically Montpellier have enjoyed success against the Brittany-based club, with four wins and four draws in their past encounters, and have not suffered a defeat to Lorient since December 2013.
Their last Ligue 1 clash in November ended in a 1-0 triumph for La Paillade at Stade du Moustoir.
Montpellier HSC Ligue 1 form: DWWWDL
Montpellier HSC form (all competitions): DWWWWD
Lorient Ligue 1 form: WLLDWD
Lorient form (all competitions): WWDLLW
Team News
© Reuters
Lorient's dressing room has resembled more of a hospital ward of late with seven first-team players unavailable.
Defenders Matthieu Saunier and Loris Mouyokolo have ankle issues, while Tiago Ilori, Jeremy Morel and Thomas Fontaine are also injured.
Forward Stephane Diarra and midfielder Jonathan Delaplace will miss this match with knee and muscle problems respectively.
Montpellier will have to make do without goalkeeper Dimitry Bertaud, who has a shoulder injury, and striker Delort, who is recovering from a groin complaint.
The loss of Delort is a blow as he, along with teammate Laborde, is the team's equal top-scorer with nine goals.
Montpellier HSC possible starting lineup:
Omlin; Sambia, Hilton, Congre, Ristic; Mavididi, Sacanier, Ferri, Mollet, Laborde; Skuletic
Lorient possible starting lineup:
Dreyer; Mendes, Gravillon, Laporte, Chalobah, Le Goff; Le Fee, Abergel, Monconduit, Boisgard; Moffi
We say: Montpellier HSC 2-1 Lorient
Montpellier are on a roll, have shown great determination and enjoy a great record against Lorient. All signs point to a victory for them.
Top tip
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 Montpellier HSC win with a probability of 47.23%. A win for Lorient had a probability of 27.58% and a draw had a probability of 25.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Montpellier HSC win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.59%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.33%) and 2-0 (8.26%). The likeliest Lorient win was 0-1 (7.68%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.97%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with an 12% likelihood.
