Lorient and Lille will bid to preserve their respective unbeaten records in 2023-24 when they do battle at the Stade du Moustoir on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts head into the third round of Ligue 1 fixtures on the back of successive draws, while the visitors defeated Rijeka in the Europa Conference League playoffs in midweek.
Match preview
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Lorient kicked off their campaign by holding Paris Saint-Germain to a goalless draw at Parc des Princes, despite seeing just 22% possession while failing to register a single attempt on target, with PSG racking up 20 shots.
Once again, Les Merlus were dominated last time out as they struggled to deal with Nice on home soil, but they managed to snatch a point and remain unbeaten thanks to Sirine Doucoure's 77th-minute equaliser.
Not only did Nice enjoy the lion's share of possession last weekend, but they also amassed 21 attempts at the Stade du Moustoir, limiting Lorient to just two shots on target, so Regis Le Bris will be eager for his players to establish a sense of control on Sunday.
The Brittany outfit enjoyed plenty of success on home soil last term, winning nine of their 19 Ligue 1 matches at the Stade du Moustoir, while only four teams conceded fewer home goals than Lorient in 2022-23.
It is also worth remembering that Lorient have won each of their previous two home games against Lille, which should fill Les Merlus with confidence ahead of this weekend's showdown.
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Lille enter Sunday's clash on the back of a 2-1 victory over Croatian club Rijeka in the Europa Conference League playoffs, with Paulo Fonseca's men racking up 79% possession and 19 shots at Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Wednesday.
After falling behind midway through the first half, Les Dogues equalised on the stroke of half time through Edon Zhegrova, and the scoreline remained level until Leny Yoro came off the bench to score the winning goal in the 89th minute.
Incidentally, Lille have made a habit of scoring late goals this season, as they required a 94th-minute equaliser from Bafode Diakite to snatch a 1-1 draw against Nice in their opening Ligue 1 match.
Fonseca's men also left it late to claim all three points against Nantes last weekend, with Jonathan David and Adam Ounas scoring in the final 30 minutes to wrap up a 2-0 victory, although the performance was tarnished by Alexsandro's red card.
After winning the Ligue 1 title in 2020-21, Lille finished all the way down in 10th place in 2021-22 before climbing back up to fifth last term, so Les Dogues will be hoping to continue their rise this season.
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Team News
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Lorient have several players sidelined through injury at the moment, with Tosin Aiyegun, Quentin Boisgard, Igor Silva and Ayman Kari all expected to miss the visit of Lille, while Benjamin Mendy also remains sidelined.
Regis Le Bris deployed an attacking 3-4-3 formation against Nice last time out, with Bournemouth loanee Romain Faivre joining Bamba Dieng and Jean-Victor Makengo in the forward line.
At the opposite end of the pitch, Bamo Meite, Julien Laporte and Montassar Talbi look set to continue in defence, while Switzerland international Yvon Mvogo will retain his place between the sticks.
Lille, on the other hand, will be without suspended centre-back Alexsandro following his red card last weekend, so we could see 17-year-old starlet Leny Yoro come into the visitors' backline on Sunday.
In terms of injuries, Samuel Umtiti is still waiting to make his competitive debut for Les Dogues after picking up an injury in pre-season, while Tiago Djalo remains sidelined with a knee issue.
Paulo Fonseca will likely stick with his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation, meaning that Jonathan David will continue to lead the line, with Angel Gomes and Benjamin Andre expected to operate in the engine room.
Lorient possible starting lineup:
Mvogo; Meite, Laporte, Talbi; Kalulu, Abergel, Ponceau, Le Goff; Faivre, Dieng, Makengo
Lille possible starting lineup:
Chevalier; Santos, Diakite Yoro, Ismaily; Gomes, Andre; Zhegrova, Cabella, Haraldsson; David
We say: Lorient 1-1 Lille
Although Lille remain unbeaten in 2023-24, Fonseca's side have not been overly convincing during the early stages of the season, relying on late goals to get results.
Given that Lorient have recorded a couple of low-scoring draws this term - preventing PSG and Nice from winning - we can see the hosts picking up another point this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Morris
