Preview: Angers vs Lille - prediction, team news, lineups

Angers will host Lille in Ligue 1 this Sunday evening at the Raymond Kopa Stadium as the visitors aim to strengthen their hold over the qualification spot for a place in the Europa League next season.

The hosts still have their European ambitions for the following campaign, knowing a win in this game will close the gap to Les Dogues to just two points.

Match preview

Angers may currently sit in 11th in Ligue 1 with 29 points following their eight wins, five draws and nine defeats, but they are only five points off Lille in fifth.

Les Scoistes will be confident of closing the gap to the visitors this weekend after they won their last two home games in Ligue 1.

If Angers achieve victory, it will be the first time since September 2019 in which they could record three consecutive home wins in the top flight.

However, the hosts will have to overcome their recent record against Lille, as they have lost their last three fixtures to their weekend’s opponents.

If Angers suffer defeat to Lille and fail to score in the game, it would mean that they have lost four consecutive top-flight games against the same opponent without finding the net for only the second time in the club's history, after doing so against Nantes between 1969 and 1971.

This could be a real possibility for Alexandre Dujeux’s side, as they have failed to score on 21 occasions in Ligue 1 since the start of last season, more than any other team.

© Imago

Lille come into this fixture currently occupying fifth in the league and a qualification place for the Europa League next season with their 34 points from 10 wins, four draws and eight defeats.

However, there will be some concern throughout the club about their recent form, as they have failed to win any of their last six Ligue 1 matches and come into this game off the back of a disappointing 1-0 home defeat to Crvena Zvezda in the Europa League.

Fans of the club let their feelings be known following this latest defeat as they threw flares on the pitch following the loss as the players attempted to show their appreciation for the support on Thursday night.

The recent away record for the visitors does not indicate that they will secure a win in this game to turn their fortunes around, as they have failed to win in their last four in all competitions.

Lille will take confidence from their recent record against Angers, securing a 1-0 victory earlier this season in November as Felix Correia scored Les Dogues' lone goal in the 47th minute.

Angers Ligue 1 form:

Angers form (all competitions):

Lille Ligue 1 form:

Lille form (all competitions):

Team News

© Imago / PsnewZ

Angers will be without Carlens Arcus for this upcoming fixture, with the full-back serving a suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards, while there are concerns around the fitness of Harouna Djibirin.

Meanwhile, in more positive news, injury concerns around Louis Mouton and Haris Belkebla seem to have eased, as they both featured last time out in Angers’ defeat to Lorient.

Lille have a long list of players that will be ruled out for this game due to injury, as Hamza Igamane and Ousmane Toure are out because of cruciate ligament tears, while Thomas Meunier is expected to be missing with hamstring problems.

Osame Sahraoui, Marc-Aurele Caillard and Ethan Mbappe Lottin are also set to sit out this game; however, in more positive news, Noah Edjouma has recovered from his injury issues, as he was involved on Thursday evening in the Europa League.

Angers possible starting lineup:

Koffi; Bamba, Camara, Lefort, Ekomie; Belkebla, Van den Boomen; Raolisoa, Belkhdim, Mouton; Koyalipou

Lille possible starting lineup:

Ozer; Bouaddi, Mandi, Ngoy, Perraud; Mukau, Andre; Perrin, Haraldsson, Correia; Fernandez-Pardo

We say: Angers 0-1 Lille

Lille will eventually turn their fortunes around this weekend when they travel to Angers, with it likely they will secure a late win, as the visitors have scored the most Ligue 1 goals in the final 15 minutes of matches. That is despite the great record the hosts have in shutting teams out in this period, having only conceded on three occasions this season.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.