Preview:Lille vs. AS Monaco

AS Monaco will be looking to keep the pressure on the top four in Ligue 1 when they travel to face Lille at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Saturday afternoon.

Leonardo Jardim's side have been in fine form since December, climbing up the table with a run of 10 wins and no defeats in their last 11 games in all competitions.

They have picked up 16 points from the last 18 available in Ligue 1, leaving them four points off the top four and just five adrift of third-placed Paris Saint-Germain.

Most impressive of all has been their sensational defensive record, with Monaco keeping six clean sheets in a row and conceding just one goal - to league leaders Lyon in a cup match - in their last 10 outings. They have not conceded a league goal since November 29.

By contrast, their away form has been a little patchy, but they have won their last two on the road and haven't been beaten by a team currently outside the top half all season.

Indeed, only Saint-Etienne have amassed more points on their travels in the current campaign.

Jardim will be without Geoffrey Kondogbia, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Ricardo Carvalho, but Jeremy Toulalan could be fit to start having returned in midweek.

Dimitar Berbatov and Layvin Kurzawa were both rested for the Coupe de France win over Evian TG and will face late fitness test, while Bernardo Silva is now a permanent Monaco player and should start once again.

Lille, meanwhile, find themselves still in the bottom half and closer to the relegation zone than they are to the top four, but steadily creeping up the standings.

Rene Girard's side began 2015 with back-to-back 1-0 league victories, but fell to their first defeat of the year last weekend by the same scoreline at the hands of Lorient.

They have a good record in front of their own fans, however, winning their last five home games in all competitions and conceding just one goal in the process.

Only the league's top three have better home records than Lille, who have picked up no fewer than 22 of their 27 points at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

Michael Frey and Simon Kjaer both picked up injuries in the last match and will not be available this weekend, while Marvin Martin and Adama Soumaoro are also sidelined.

They should be boosted by the return of Liverpool loanee Divock Origi, however, with the striker now knowing that he will spend the rest of the season in France.

Lille:

Form in Ligue 1: DWLWWL Form in all competitions: LLWWWL

Possible starting lineup: Enyeama; Corchia, Basa, Rozehnal, Beria; Balmont, Mavuba, Delaplace, Lopes; Roux, Origi

Monaco:

Form in Ligue 1: WWWWDW Form in all competitions: WWDWWW

Possible starting lineup: Subasic; Fabinho, Raggi, Wallace, Kuzawa; Silva, Toulalan, Moutinho; Berbatov, Martial, Ferreira-Carrasco

Sports Mole says: 0-0