Preview: Lorient vs Monaco - prediction, team news, lineups

Monaco will hope to maintain their slender lead atop the Ligue 1 table this weekend as they head to Stade du Moustoir to face Lorient on Sunday.

A 2-2 home draw versus Toulouse narrowed the league lead to just one point for the Principality club, while Lorient moved up to eighth after a 1-0 win over Paris FC.

Match preview

Lorient appear to be building something positive after suffering a slow start to the new Ligue 1 campaign.

One of the top flight surprises from last season have points in three of their last four league outings after collecting just one point from their first two games of the campaign.

Alexandre Dujeux can claim successive Ligue 1 home wins on Sunday, something his predecessor, Olivier Pantaloni, achieved only once in 2026.

As things stand heading into matchday seven, only three points separate them from Lyon for fourth and a place in next season’s Champions League qualifiers.

So far in 2026-27, Lorient sit second in the league regarding clean sheets with three, and another one this weekend would equal their total from the 2026 portion of this competition last season (four).

Les Merlus can claim a third consecutive Ligue 1 triumph over Monaco on Sunday, having netted three goals in their two victories against them a season ago.

Uncharacteristically, we saw Monaco let their guard down at home last week, missing a chance to get some breathing room at the top of the table.

That 2-2 draw was the first time Filipe Luis had seen his team drop points from a winning position this season as they failed to win for a second time in their last three league games.

Meanwhile, the Brazilian coach has yet to lose a competitive outing in charge of this club, as his side are the only ones in Ligue 1 without a domestic defeat this season.

Les Monegasques can claim a sixth competitive triumph away from home on Sunday, surpassing their 2026 total from last season (five), after winning their first League Phase outing in the Conference League on Thursday at CSKA Sofia (2-1).

A win or draw on Sunday would mark the first time this club will have earned points in their first four Ligue 1 away fixtures since the start of the 2023-24 campaign.

Monaco can claim their first top flight away win against a Brittany club in over two years, with their last such triumph coming at Roazhon Park in early October 2024 versus Rennes (2-1).

Lorient Ligue 1 form:

Monaco Ligue 1 form:

Monaco form (all competitions):

Team News

Hamstring strains may keep Panos Katseris, Noah Mbamba and Bandiougou Fadiga out of the Lorient side on matchday seven.

Gabin Bernardeau netted his first of the campaign in the second half last week, and Yvon Mvogo made three stops to maintain a clean sheet.

On the Monaco side, Mamadou Coulibaly sat on the bench against Sofia and could return from a hamstring injury on Sunday, with Takumi Minamino seeking his first appearance of this Ligue 1 season after returning from a torn ACL to start in midweek.

Edan Diop and Matthis Abline netted in their draw last weekend, with Paris Brunner returning to score in their Conference League triumph on Thursday and the winner coming courtesy of Ansu Fati.

Lorient possible starting lineup:

Mvogo; Adjei, Talbi, Toure; Sylla, Le Bris, Bernardeau, Kouassi; Makengo, Kone, Jensen

Monaco possible starting lineup:

Hradecky; Vanderson, Sane, Dier, Nazinho; Camara, Zakaria; Diop, Abline, Golovin; Brunner

We say: Lorient 1-1 Monaco

Away from home, Monaco do not appear to play quite as aggressively and against a Lorient side growing in confidence, we believe the Principaltiy club may drop more points on Sunday.

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