Following a 2-1 victory away at Nice on matchday one, Monaco will play their first game of the 2015-16 Ligue 1 campaign at home on Friday evening.

Lille, who lost 1-0 to champions Paris Saint-Germain last time out, will be the visitors to the Stade Louis II - a venue that they have not won at since 2009.

Monaco

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The task for Leonardo Jardim's men is simple - start this campaign much better than the last one.

Twelve months ago, Les Rouges et Blancs collected just four points from the first 15 that were on offer, which instantly put them on the back foot as far as the title race was concerned.

It has been a case of so far so good this time around following the win over Nice, which will have been particularly pleasing for Jardim as his side had to show character to recover from a goal down.

As for this clash against Lille, it will provide Monaco with a chance to arrest the negative home form that they showed last term. They may have only tasted defeat twice in front of their own supporters, yet what hampered them was the nine draws, which exceeded their eight victories.

They also scored just 23 goals at the Stade Louis II, which was fewer than Evian TG, Metz and Lens, all of whom were relegated. On the flip side, Monaco did have the best goals against record, having shipped just 10.

Where the goals are concerned, Jardim will no doubt be expecting much from summer signing Stephan El Shaarawy. The striker started the clash with Nice on the bench, but he did go close with an acrobatic effort after his introduction as a second-half substitute.

Recent form: WWLWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WWWWWW

Lille

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It has been a summer of change at Lille, which has seen a new coach arrive as well as a hefty number of players come and go.

For Herve Renard, having been forced to make so many squad alterations, the last side that he would have wanted to face on the opening day would have been the champions.

To Lille's credit, they more than held their own against PSG and will probably have been disappointed not to have claimed a share of the spoils, particularly considering that they took on 10 men for over an hour following the dismissal of Adrien Rabiot for two bookable offences.

Unfortunately for Renard and his charges it does not get much easier in their second outing of the campaign as they travel to another of the title favourites.

Lille were not exactly a force to be reckoned with away from home last season as they lost 11 times - only four sides were defeated on their travels more.

Recent form: LWLLWL
Recent form (all competitions): LWWDDL

Team News

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As mentioned earlier El Shaarawy started the contest against Nice as a substitute, but the former AC Milan frontman could be in line to earn a recall for this encounter.

Should that prove to be the case, the Italian is likely to replace youngster Anthony Martial.

Elsewhere, the Portuguese duo of Joao Moutinho and Ricardo Carvalho are expected to feature from the beginning, but Bernardo Silva may have to settle for a place on the bench again.

As for Lille, defender Ibrahim Amadou is regarded to be a doubt, having limped off with a muscular complaint against PSG.

Monaco possible starting lineup:
Subasic; Fabinho, Raggi, Carvalho, Kurzawa; Toulalan, Moutinho, Pasalic; Dirar, Cavaleiro, El Shaarawy

Lille possible starting lineup:
Enyeama; Civelli, Mendes, Sidibe, Pavard; Balmont, Mavuba; Corchia, Bautheac, Boufal; Guirassy

Head To Head

Monaco went unbeaten in the two meetings between these sides last season. In January the now-departed Dimitar Berbatov was the hero in a 1-0 win, while the Bulgarian also scored in the 1-1 draw last August.

Those results extended Monaco's positive streak against Lille to three encounters, but prior to that, it was Les Dogues that were the dominant outfit.

In seven meetings, Lille won on six occasions, during which time they conceded only three goals.

We say: Monaco 2-1 Lille

It would not be a surprise were Lille to make it difficult for their hosts, just as they did for PSG a week ago. But, there appears to be a good feeling among the Monaco squad, which has been represented on the pitch in recent weeks. It could well be a narrow win, but it should be a victory for Monaco nonetheless.

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