Two sides in contrasting runs of form at opposite ends of the Ligue 1 table will square off on Saturday, as Lille welcome Bordeaux to the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
Upon their return from the international break, the hosts and defending champions will aim to break into the top five, while their visitors find themselves at the foot of the division with nine matches to go.
Match preview
© Reuters
With just 18 points from their opening 15 league games, Lille looked set to play out a disappointing campaign following last season's unlikely Ligue 1 triumph, but they have majorly improved their standing in recent months.
Since the beginning of December, Les Dogues have earned 28 points from 14 top-flight outings, firstly enjoying a productive unbeaten run before suffering consecutive defeats to Brest and runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain in the new year.
Jocelyn Gourvennec's men have bounced back from those results in style, winning four of their last six domestic outings and drawing the other two, most recently beating Nantes 1-0 away from home prior to the international break thanks to Amadou Onana's first-half goal.
While they were unable to progress past defending champions Chelsea in the Champions League round of 16 in that span, Les Dogues will still be pleased with their form, having climbed to sixth spot in the French top flight.
Now sitting just two points behind fifth-placed Strasbourg and four worse off than fourth-placed Nice, Gourvennec's men will look to pick up where they left off and boost their bid for continental qualification with what would be a 13th league win of the season at the weekend.
© Reuters
They welcome a Bordeaux side desperate for a result for a different reason, as the league's basement team aim to keep their hopes of surviving the drop alive.
Les Girondins have had to battle through a dismal campaign, picking up just four wins and 22 points from their 29 Ligue 1 outings thus far, and you now have to go back over two months to find their last league victory.
Since then, Bordeaux have earned just two points from seven matches, with the board quickly opting to dismiss former manager Vladimir Petkovic in February as a result of their struggles, but new boss David Guion has also been unable to reverse their fortunes.
Having most recently suffered consecutive defeats at the hands of Troyes, Paris Saint-Germain and Montpellier, who saw out a 2-0 victory with just nine men on the pitch for the entire second half, Les Girondins find themselves rooted to the foot of the table with nine games to go, trailing the relegation playoff place by five points and automatic safety by six.
Now in the final straight of the season, Bordeaux, whose tally of 67 seasons spent in Ligue 1 is only topped by Marseille, will desperately look to build a winning run to, at least, stand a chance of jumping out of the bottom two and avoiding relegation to the second tier.
- W
- D
- W
- W
- D
- W
- L
- W
- W
- D
- L
- W
- L
- D
- D
- L
- L
- L
- D
- D
- L
- L
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Lille come into the game without winger Timothy Weah, who will serve a suspension after he was sent off in the victory over Nantes before the recent break.
They will, however, be able to field all of their international stars, with the likes of Jonathan David set to start on a high after helping Canada qualify for their first World Cup since 1986.
Key defender Sven Botman picked up a hamstring injury in their second-leg defeat to Chelsea in mid-March, and we are yet to see whether he will return in time, although Portugal veteran Jose Fonte will be on hand to command the defence in the Dutchman's absence, having played an important role in his nation's advancement to the World Cup last week.
Bordeaux's attack will be led by Hwang Ui-jo, who has been the star man in their struggling squad this season, netting 10 goals and providing two assists in 24 Ligue 1 appearances.
Young midfielder Yacine Adli has been another shining light, providing seven league assists, and he should come back into the starting XI after Les Girondins' concerning performance against Montpellier.
Lille possible starting lineup:
Leonardo; Djalo, Fonte, Xeka, Gudmundsson; Onana, Andre; Bamba, Gomes, David; Yilmaz
Bordeaux possible starting lineup:
Costil; Gregersen, Ahmedhodzic, Marcelo, Mensah; Guilavogui, Adli, Fransergio; Elis, Mara, Hwang
We say: Lille 2-0 Bordeaux
Upon their return to action, we see Lille being too strong for their visitors at the weekend.
Les Dogues have looked a new team in recent months, and, with their focus set on climbing into the top five, they should not be derailed by a Bordeaux side lacking any momentum or confidence.
Top tip
Sam Varley
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 Lille win with a probability of 68.28%. A draw had a probability of 19.2% and a win for Bordeaux had a probability of 12.52%.
The most likely scoreline for a Lille win was 2-0 with a probability of 12.46%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (11.81%) and 2-1 (9.63%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.13%), while for a Bordeaux win it was 0-1 (4.33%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 5.6% likelihood.
