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

Lille will host Nantes this Sunday evening in Ligue 1 with the hosts aiming to make it three wins in a week across all competitions to keep their Europa League qualification hopes on course.

The visitors will continue their battle against relegation when they travel to the north of France, aiming to build on their win last time out in the division.

Match preview

Lille have had an incredible week, beginning with a 1-0 victory over Angers in Ligue 1 before securing progression to the next round of the Europa League on Thursday with a 2-0 win on the night against Crvena Zvezda.

Les Dogues will be desperate to improve their form in the league as they have only managed one win in their last seven, although that victory was their most recent away to Angers.

In this period, they truly struggled, scoring just three goals, conceding 11, and they have never scored more than once in a single match during this run.

Fans will hope they can address their poor home form in this game as they have failed to win in their last three league fixtures at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

This is their longest winless run at home since April 2022 when they also failed to earn a victory in three consecutive games, with their worst run coming in December 2018 when it reached four fixtures.

Nantes come into this game sitting in the relegation zone, as they are placed 17th, level on points with Auxerre, who are the club directly above them in Ligue 1.

The visitors have only collected four wins from their 23 fixtures in the division all season, also earning five draws while suffering 14 defeats.

Nantes won 2-0 against Le Havre in their last Ligue 1 match, ending a run of five straight defeats, but they have not secured two consecutive top-flight wins since August 2024.

They have lost four of their last five away games in Ligue 1, winning the other, after avoiding defeat in their previous four.

Fans of Nantes will be hopeful they can improve their away record, as they have had 11 fixtures on the road from Stade de la Beaujoire – Louis Fonteneau in the league this season, earning nine points from 33 available.

Lille Ligue 1 form:

L L L D D W

Lille form (all competitions):

L D D L W W

Nantes Ligue 1 form:

L L L L L W

Team News

Lille still have a long list of injuries to contend with for this fixture, as Hamza Igamane, Ousmane Toure, Thomas Meunier, Osame Sahraoui, Marc-Aurele Caillard and Ethan Mbappe Lottin are all ruled out.

Oliver Giroud is likely to continue up top for the hosts after he got a goal in each of their last two games, as three points were secured last weekend before progression in the Europa League.

Nantes would have been pleased that Mohamed Kaba was fit enough to start against Le Havre after being an injury concern in the lead-up.

Bahmed Deuff and Amady Camara remain sidelined with injuries, while there will be concern around the fitness of Deiver Machado, who was withdrawn at half time last time out, after returning from his hamstring concerns.

Ignatius Ganago, who scored one of the goals in their 2-0 victory over Le Havre, will be a worry for the visitors, as he was withdrawn after 53 minutes as he suffered an injury.

The pair of Matthis Abline and defender Kelvin Amian were missing for the last fixture, but their top scorer should return to the side to lead the line after serving his suspension, and the full-back should be registered to play after an administrative issue last weekend.

Lille possible starting lineup:

Ozer; Santos, Mandi, Ngoy, Perraud; Bouaddi, Andre; Perrin, Correia, Fernandez-Pardo; Giroud

Nantes possible starting lineup:

Lopes; Awaziem, Cozza, Youssuf; Centonze, Kaba, Lepenant, Tabibou; Leroux, Cabella; Abline

We say: Lille 1-0 Nantes

Lille should have too much quality for Nantes in this game, with the visitors hoping their freshness may help them secure a draw or even better. Despite the injuries, the hosts should manage to collect all three points.

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