With their title defence off to a wobbly start, Lille will endeavour to claim their first win of the new season on Saturday when they make the journey to take on Saint-Etienne.
The hosts played out a 2-2 draw with Lens in their most recent battle, while Lille were torn to shreds by Nice, now under the tutelage of title-winning coach Christophe Galtier.
Match preview
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Twice Saint-Etienne took the lead against Lens in gameweek two, and twice they were pegged back, as Claude Puel's side were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis after being held to a 1-1 stalemate by Lorient on the opening day.
Les Verts' main man Wahbi Khazri took all of one minute to capitalise on a defensive error and put his side ahead before Ignatius Ganago levelled the scores before half time, while Denis Bouanga and Seko Fofana both made the net ripple in the second period to ensure a share of the spoils.
Saint-Etienne fans will look back fondly on the first three games of the 2020-21 season in which their side gleaned nine points and three clean sheets, but they find themselves in the top half at this very early stage of the season and will aim to remain in such a position throughout the campaign.
However, the four-goal stalemate at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis marked Saint-Etienne's fourth league game without a win, and they have failed to claim a victory over the reigning Ligue 1 champions since downing Montpellier HSC in the 2012-13 season.
Furthermore, Puel's side are now running the risk of failing to win any of their first three games of the season since the 2009-10 campaign - in which they finished 17th and staved off relegation by the skin of their teeth - but the wounded champions are not the force they once were.
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Being able to grind out narrow wins with clean sheets was a staple of Christophe Galtier's time in the Lille dugout en route to the 2020-21 Ligue 1 title, but there was nothing close about Les Dogues' contest with Nice last week, with the champions humbled in front of their own supporters.
Lille fell two goals down within the first five minutes of the contest as Kasper Dolberg and Hicham Boudaoui silenced the home crowd, while Amine Gouiri's penalty and a second from Dolberg condemned Jocelyn Gourvennec to a humiliating defeat at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
The former Guingamp coach's appointment was underwhelming to begin with, but with his side shipping seven goals in their first two matches and still waiting for their first win of the season, alarm bells are ringing loud and clear.
Lille may have overcome Paris Saint-Germain in the Trophee des Champions earlier this season, but they occupy a place in the bottom three following their horror start to the season, although their 15-game unbeaten run away from home remains intact.
Saint-Etienne did manage to hold Lille to 1-1 and 0-0 draws in the 2020-21 season, but they have failed to win any of their last five league games against Les Dogues since a 5-0 drubbing in May 2018, during which Romain Hamouma bagged a hat-trick and Jonathan Bamba netted against his current club.
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Team News
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Saint-Etienne left-back Miguel Trauco did not feature against Lens due to personal reasons but reportedly has a chance of being available here, while Charles Abi is close to recovering from COVID-19 infection.
However, Alpha Sissoko's thigh issue and Aimen Moueffek's broken arm are keeping both players in the medical room, but the hosts otherwise have a strong contingent of players to choose from.
Hamouma's outing at Lens was a forgettable affair as he was hooked at half time, but the 34-year-old boasts six goals against Lille and will hope to continue that hot streak here.
As for Lille, Renato Sanches has gone under the knife to address a knee injury and is expected to remain sidelined for approximately six weeks, effectively ending his hopes of a dream move to Barcelona or Liverpool.
Another Dogues midfielder in Xeka was nowhere to be seen against Nice but is expected to be available here, while Tiago Djalo is back from suspension and Isaac Lihadji is touch-and-go after picking up a knock in training.
Following Mike Maignan's departure to AC Milan, Lille confirmed the arrival of Ivo Grbic on loan from Atletico Madrid, but the Croatian has a fight on his hands to wrestle the gloves off Leo Jardim.
Saint-Etienne possible starting lineup:
Green; Macon, Sow, Moukoudi, Kolodziejczak; Neyou, Camara, Youssouf; Hamouma, Khazri, Bouanga
Lille possible starting lineup:
Jardim; Celik, Fonte, Botman, Reinildo; Ikone, Andre, Xeka, Bamba; David, Yilmaz
We say: Saint-Etienne 1-2 Lille
Goals are surely on the menu between these two clubs at the weekend, with Lille a shadow of the defensive masters they were under Galtier and Saint-Etienne also struggling to keep the ball away from their own goal.
Gourvennec is already under immense pressure and will be fearing for his future in the dugout with a stretch of underwhelming results, but we can see the champions getting off the mark at the third time of asking in a closely-fought battle.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
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 41.73%. A win for Saint-Etienne had a probability of 30.68% and a draw had a probability of 27.6%.
The most likely scoreline for a Lille win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.08%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.46%) and 0-2 (7.87%). The likeliest Saint-Etienne win was 1-0 (9.98%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.99%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 13% likelihood.
