Montpellier vs. Lille (Saturday, 4.00pm)
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After suffering a humiliating home defeat last weekend, the reigning Ligue 1 champions Lille return to action on Saturday when they travel to Stade de la Mosson to face Montpellier HSC.
La Paillade fell apart in the latter stages of their previous encounter, dropping a 3-1 decision to last-place Saint-Etienne, while Les Dogues conceded five times in a domestic encounter for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign, losing to Paris Saint-Germain 5-1.
We say: Montpellier HSC 1-2 Lille
Lille were humbled by the league leaders last weekend, and we believe that result could serve as motivation to get their act together, and when you combine that with the fact that three of their next four competitive fixtures will be away from home, where they have lost only once in their previous five domestic encounters, all signs point to a victory for this team.
Montpellier are rarely shut out, but they have failed to maintain their composure at critical times, and that could hurt them as they try to contain one of the most dangerous attackers in Ligue 1 (Jonathan David).
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Lyon vs. Nice (Saturday, 8.00pm)
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Despite dropping their first Ligue 1 fixture of 2022 last weekend, 2-0 away to Monaco, Lyon still have an opportunity to extend their unbeaten run at Groupama Stadium to six consecutive matches in all competitions when hosting Nice on Saturday.
Les Gones are eighth in the table heading into this weekend with 34 points, three back of a European place next season, while Nice advanced to the semi-finals of the Coupe de France on Wednesday, defeating Marseille 4-1.
We say: Lyon 1-1 Nice
Olympique Lyonnais have not been shut out of a competitive fixture since losing 2-0 to Monaco in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France last year, but they have only scored multiple goals in one of their previous six games played in all competitions.
Nice are coming off an impressive showing in midweek, and we expect to see plenty of determination from them in this encounter, although fatigue might be an issue for them at some point, and with both teams fighting hard to earn a place in Europe next season, we do not expect to see either side to concede many opportunities.
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Barney Corkhill
