A 17th-placed Nantes side enduring the longest winless run in Ligue 1 prepare to do battle with a table-topping Lille team who just cannot seem to stop winning on Sunday afternoon.
The title-chasing visitors put Bordeaux to the sword 3-0 in their most recent outing, whereas Nantes could only muster a draw against Saint-Etienne.
Match preview
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It did not take long for the Nantes hierarchy to pull the trigger on Christian Gourcuff's time at the helm after their shocking start to proceedings, and Raymond Domenech's long-term future in the Canaris dugout is hardly guaranteed either.
Still winless in his short tenure as manager, Domenech has helped to shore up a previously leaky Nantes defence, but with only three triumphs from 23 games this term, Les Canaris continue to flirt with relegation.
This weekend's hosts stretched their winless run to 14 matches with a 1-1 draw against fellow strugglers Saint-Etienne in midweek, as Randal Kolo Muani put Nantes ahead before a swift reply from Mahdi Camara prevented Domenech from claiming his first three points in the dugout.
There is no danger of Domenech's men being dragged into the automatic relegation places just yet, but a resurgent Lorient team - who have played a game fewer - are level with Nantes on 19 points and could climb above them on Saturday with victory against Reims.
Furthermore, Nantes cannot clamber any higher up the table just yet as Saint-Etienne are four points clear of their adversaries, so the importance of picking up some much-needed points this weekend - however difficult that may be - cannot be understated.
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Lille were frustrated by a resolute Bordeaux outfit in the opening 45 minutes - no surprise given the Girondins' affinity for defending - but Christophe Galtier's men found their clinical edge in the second half to sweep aside their opponents on Wednesday evening.
Timothy Weah netted on a rare start for the club after the much-coveted Yusuf Yazici had broken the deadlock, with those two strikes coming before Jonathan David came off the bench to net his third goal in four matches.
A fifth victory in a row for Lille saw them maintain their position atop the Ligue 1 rankings on 51 points - their highest ever at this stage of the campaign - and the team boasting such a tally at this stage in the last eight seasons have gone on to lift the title.
The outlook is particularly promising for a Dogues side who have only shipped one goal in their last five matches - keeping a clean sheet three times on the bounce - although Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain are only two and three points behind respectively, so taking the foot off the gas could prove to be a fatal mistake at this crucial stage.
Galtier should not be fearful of that scenario, though, as Lille have a relatively empty medical room and boast a five-game winning run on the road, so it comes as no shock that the title-chasers are expected to pull off a dominant victory at the Stade de la Beaujoire.
A straightforward 2-0 triumph earlier in the campaign for Lille marked their fifth win on the bounce over Nantes, who last beat Les Dogues in September 2015.
Nantes Ligue 1 form: DDDLLD
Lille Ligue 1 form: LWWWWW
Team News
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Nantes defender Nicolas Pallois will sit out this game owing to a suspension, but Charles Traore is raring to go despite previous fears over his fitness.
The hosts have also lost 6ft 5in striker Kalifa Coulibaly to a thigh problem he picked up in training, so Kolo Muani is set to spearhead the attack alone once more.
Abdoulaye Toure and Marcus Coco will both be holding out for recalls to the side this weekend, with Pedro Chirivella's spot in midfield potentially under threat.
The visitors will once again have to cope without prolific frontman Burak Yilmaz, and his compatriot Yazici is also doubtful after twisting his ankle against Bordeaux.
Should the latter not be cleared to play, Weah will keep his place up top alongside the returning David, and Lille - who also welcome Benjamin Andre back from suspension - have no other fitness concerns for their trip to Nantes.
Luiz Araujo set up Weah's goal on the night four minutes after being introduced as a substitute, so he will hope to force his way into the starting lineup here.
Nantes possible starting lineup:
Lafont; Corchia, Girotto, Castelletto, Traore; Coco, Louza, Blas, Toure, Simon; Kolo Muani
Lille possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Celik, Fonte, Botman, Bradaric; Araujo, Andre, Soumare, Bamba; David, Weah
We say: Nantes 0-2 Lille
Lille have often struggled to blow teams away in the absence of Yilmaz, but a dominant second-half showing at Bordeaux was a true statement of intent from the league leaders. Domenech's Nantes will put up a fight but are not expected to silence a buoyed Lille attack, so this should be a sixth victory in a row for Galtier's charges.
Top betting tip
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 53.75%. A draw had a probability of 25.6% and a win for Nantes had a probability of 20.68%.
The most likely scoreline for a Lille win was 0-1 with a probability of 13.99%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (10.85%) and 1-2 (9.27%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.95%), while for a Nantes win it was 1-0 (7.71%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 10.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Lille would win this match.
