The champions meet the challengers in Sunday's Ligue 1 evening encounter as Lille welcome runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain to the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
Les Dogues went down 2-0 to Brest just before the international break, while Mauricio Pochettino's side were recently knocked out of the Coupe de France by Nice.
Match preview
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Just when Lille appeared to be building up a head of steam during their faltering Ligue 1 title defence, the reigning champions were once again humbled by bottom-half opposition as Brest ran out 2-0 winners before the international break.
With only three minutes on the clock, Tiago Djalo - selected over regular right-back Zeki Celik - scored an own goal to put Brest 1-0 to the good, and the final nail in the coffin for Jocelyn Gourvennec's side came in the fifth minute of second-half injury time through Steve Mounie's penalty.
Les Dogues had managed to string together a nine-game unbeaten run in the French top flight before being seen off with ease at the Stade Francis Le-Ble, but a period of stalemates in that solid streak has prevented them from climbing out of mid-table obscurity.
Indeed, Lille enter the clash with PSG down in 11th position and a whopping 21 points behind Pochettino's side, but with fourth-placed Strasbourg only three points ahead of them, the champions remain firmly in European contention.
Gourvennec's men have enjoyed an extended period of rest following their early Coupe de France exit last month, and while PSG may enter the contest as favourites to get the job done, Lille always turn up the heat in front of their own supporters - going 13 games unbeaten at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy since defeat to Nice in March.
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Rumours continue to swirl surrounding the future of Mauricio Pochettino, and if recent reports are to be believed, the Manchester United-linked Argentine's time in the Parisiens dugout may be over sooner than anticipated.
Links with the Old Trafford job are nothing new, but Pochettino allegedly feels unhappy at the Parc des Princes and has been tipped to exit his role before the 2022-23 season kicks off, with Zinedine Zidane rumoured to be in the pipeline to take over should that be the case.
Pochettino did not help his own cause when PSG's defence of their Coupe de France crown ended at the hands of high-flying Nice on Monday in the last 16, with 18-year-old Xavi Simons missing the vital spot kick after some more senior players allegedly refused to take one.
The impending Champions League battle with Real Madrid will soon come into Pochettino's mind, but his side still hold an 11-point lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table as they seek to reverse a trend of patchy away form, with PSG drawing each of their last three league games on the road 1-1 - ironically all against teams beginning with L in Lorient, Lyon and Lens.
Another two-goal stalemate at the home of Lille would surely be some kind of unorthodox footballing record for that category, but PSG have already beaten the champions 2-1 at the Parc des Princes this term, and Pochettino could certainly do with a convincing showing on Sunday to appease the powers-that-be.
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Team News
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Lille enter this mouthwatering contest in as good a shape as they could possibly be, with second-choice goalkeeper Leo Jardim the only absentee for Gourvennec due to his neck problem.
However, attackers Jonathan David and Timothy Weah may not be in condition to start following their international exploits with Canada and the USA respectively, which could open the door for Hatem Ben Arfa to make a statement against his former club.
Gabriel Gudmundsson ought to be drafted into the XI at left-back following Reinildo's exit for Atletico Madrid, while Angel Gomes should benefit from Weah's potential absence from the starting lineup.
As for PSG, Achraf Hakimi is back from international duty with Morocco, but Abdou Diallo and Idrissa Gueye are preparing for the final of the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal.
It remains to be seen if Keylor Navas, Marquinhos and Angel Di Maria will be fit for battle following their exploits with their respective nations, while Neymar, Georginio Wijnaldum and Sergio Ramos are all set to miss out once more.
Kylian Mbappe was only fit enough for a substitute outing in the cup but is sure to come into the first XI here, potentially in place of Mauro Icardi after a number of underwhelming showings.
Lille possible starting lineup:
Grbic; Celik, Fonte, Botman, Gudmundsson; Gomes, Andre, Sanches, Bamba; Yilmaz, Ben Arfa
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Hakimi, Kehrer, Kimpembe, Mendes; Paredes, Pereira, Verratti; Messi, Mbappe, Draxler
We say: Lille 0-1 Paris Saint-Germain
PSG have certainly mastered the art of winning ugly, but another wave of important players absent will make it difficult for Les Parisiens to stamp their authority on the fortress that is the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
Pochettino's side ought to feel confident about their prospects of keeping Les Dogues at bay if David needs more time to recover from his international exploits, and we can see Lille's home resistance being broken by the runaway leaders, but not without a fight.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
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 Paris Saint-Germain win with a probability of 53.62%. A draw had a probability of 23.2% and a win for Lille had a probability of 23.17%.
The most likely scoreline for a Paris Saint-Germain win was 0-1 with a probability of 9.96%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.8%) and 0-2 (8.92%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.93%), while for a Lille win it was 1-0 (6.1%). The actual scoreline of 1-5 was predicted with a 0.9% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Paris Saint-Germain would win this match.
