Marseille will secure a top-three berth if they defeat Lille at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Saturday evening, with the end of the Ligue 1 season in sight.
The hosts, on the other hand, are in danger of slipping out of the European places altogether, as they find themselves one point inside the top five and 13 points shy of OM.
Match preview
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Lille enter Saturday's clash having taken just one point from their last two matches, with a 1-0 defeat against Reims preceding a goalless draw at Monaco, although Paulo Fonseca's men dominated the Monegasques and limited the hosts to a solitary attempt on target.
When you look at the bigger picture, however, Les Dogues have lost only two of their last 11 league outings, picking up five wins and four draws along the way, with four victories coming in their previous eight encounters.
Remarkably, Lille have not tasted defeat at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy since all the way back in August, securing 12 wins and four draws across all competitions while scoring at least two goals on 11 occasions.
Not only have LOSC won each of their last three home league games, but they have also won five of their previous six, making light work of Strasbourg, Brest, Lorient, Montpellier and Ajaccio while drawing with Lyon.
Consequently, only Lens have suffered fewer home defeats than Lille's two this season, so Fonseca's men will back themselves to pick up another positive result and keep their European dreams alive this weekend.
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That said, Marseille boast the second-best away record in Ligue 1 this term, having lost just two of their 17 matches on the road, and they also possess the joint-best defensive record away from home, having conceded 13 goals.
Although OM suffered a 2-1 defeat at Lens in their previous away game, that loss ended an 11-match unbeaten run for Igor Tudor's men on their travels, with eight successive away league victories coming between November and March.
In terms of the more recent picture, Marseille have won four of their previous five matches, with successive victories over Troyes, Lyon and Auxerre preceding last weekend's 3-1 win against Angers, meaning that Les Olympiens have lost only one of their last 10 games.
Alexis Sanchez bagged a goal and an assist last time out, taking his tally for the season to 18 goals and three assists across all competitions, while the veteran forward has netted one Ligue 1 goal fewer than Lionel Messi this season.
Having taken 39 points from a possible 51 on the road this term – one point fewer than Paris Saint-Germain – Marseille will be confident of enjoying more away-day success on Saturday, but they will also be wary of Lille's strong home record.
Team News
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Lille look set to be without Edon Zhegrova on Saturday after the Kosovan forward missed last weekend's draw with Monaco due to a muscle injury, so Timothy Weah will continue to lead the line, with Jonathan David operating behind the striker.
Having netted 21 goals in 34 games this season, David finds himself third in the Ligue 1 scoring charts, while only Kylian Mbappe and Alexandre Lacazette have scored more.
Portuguese defender Tiago Djalo is also expected to miss Saturday's clash with a muscle injury, meaning that Alexsandro will join veteran centre-back Jose Fonte in LOSC's backline, with Ismaily and Bafode Diakite occupying the full-back roles.
As for Marseille, they will be without the injured trio of Pedro Ruiz, Azzedine Ounahi and Amine Harit for the trip to Lille, with the latter last featuring all the way back in November before picking up a knee injury.
Dimitri Payet and Ruslan Malinovskyi are likely to support Alexis Sanchez in attack, while Matteo Guendouzi and Jordan Veretout will anchor the midfield.
Elsewhere, Valentin Rongier, Leonardo Balerdi and Sead Kolasinac look set to line up in a centre-back trio, giving more freedom to wing-backs Cengiz Under and Jonathan Clauss.
Lille possible starting lineup:
Chevalier; Diakite, Fonte, Alexsandro, Ismaily; Andre, Gomes; Bamba, Cabella, David; Weah
Marseille possible starting lineup:
Lopez; Rongier, Balerdi, Kolasinac; Under, Guendouzi, Veretout, Clauss; Malinovskyi, Payet; Sanchez
We say: Lille 2-2 Marseille
While Lille's last home defeat came all the way back in August, Marseille have remained a serious threat on the road throughout the campaign, meaning that Saturday's showdown is destined to be a close-fought battle.
Accordingly, we can see Lille and Marseille serving up an entertaining encounter at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, with the two sides sharing the spoils.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Morris
