Lille vs Montpellier

Stade Pierre-Mauroy plays host to Lille’s must-win Ligue 1 clash against bottom-half Montpellier.

Lille succumbed to their eighth Ligue 1 defeat of the 2022/23 season (W15, D7) at Angers last weekend (0-1) but have yet to lose twice on the trot this term. With third-place Marseille now nine points away, Paulo Fonseca’s men can hope to secure Europa League qualification at best, as they lag six points behind fourth-placed Monaco at the start of this round. Montpellier’s visit to Stade Pierre-Mauroy feels like a prime opportunity for Lille to get back to winning ways after going undefeated in their last ten Ligue 1 H2Hs (W6, D4). ‘Les Dogues’ currently hold the best record in Ligue 1 with an unbeaten streak of 12 home games (W8, D4). That also accounts for their best run in a single season since May 2011, when they went unbeaten for 14 games.

On the other hand, visiting Montpellier suffered a disheartening 2-1 home loss to Toulouse last weekend, putting a stop to an impressive seven-match unbeaten league streak prior (W5, D2). But the visitors seem on course to secure top-flight status following an underwhelming first half of the season, having steered 11 points clear of the relegation zone. Away from home, Michel Der Zakarian’s men have strung together three league games without losing (W2, D1) for the first time since a run of six between February-April 2021. That may set them up nicely for this daunting trip to Lille, where they’ve failed to win any of their last ten top-flight H2Hs (D4, L6) since a narrow 1-0 triumph in 2011.