Two teams with ambitions of finishing in Ligue 1's top four this season meet at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Friday night, as Lille host Lyon.

In arguably the game of the weekend, the hosts will look to continue to ride the crest of a wave, while Lyon need to recover from a shaky week.

Match preview

Lille's win in the Derby du Nord away to Lens last week saw them extend their unbeaten run to seven games across all competitions, a run which has come after Bruno Genesio's men lost four in a row at the end of August.

Les Dogues look a completely different team now, and they could hardly have asked for a better start, having beaten Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, and their local rivals late on last time out.

A penalty shrouded in controversy handed Jonathan David the chance to score in the 98th minute at Lens, before Mohamed Bayo added a second a few minutes later in a dramatic finale at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis.

That result moved Lille level on points with third-place Marseille, and they remain just six points off Paris Saint-Germain at the top, and if current form continues there is no reason why LOSC cannot close that gap.

Excellent home form has been commonplace for Lille in recent times, and they have the longest current run of scoring at home in the division, dating back 29 matches - the club's longest streak since the 1950s.

Lille have also only lost three of their last 37 Ligue 1 home games, but one of those defeats did come against upcoming opponents Lyon as recently as May, in a 4-3 thriller that saw Lille lead 2-0, and 3-2 on 88 minutes, but still contrive to lose.

Lyon in general are something of a bogey team for Lille, because despite their recent difficulties, Les Gones have only suffered defeat once in their last eight meetings.

However, form heading into this clash has not been ideal for Pierre Sage's men, who have recorded two disappointing results over the last week.

After winning five in a row in all competitions, OL were big favourites to beat a Besiktas side that do not travel well in Europe and were bottom of the Europa League standings, but amazingly, they fell to a 1-0 defeat.

To follow that up, Sage saw his side squander a lead twice to draw 2-2 at home to Auxerre in the league last weekend, and in doing so, losing ground on the top four, remaining seventh, three points behind their upcoming opponents.

Last week's draw also means that for the 12th season in succession, Lyon have failed to win at least five of their first nine Ligue 1 games of the campaign, a remarkable stat when put in the context that they achieved that feat 10 times between 2000 and 2012.

Team News

Lille will be without important defender Alexsandro here, after his booking against Monaco triggered a one-match suspension, joining fellow defenders Mitchel Bakker and Samuel Umtiti on the sidelines.

Hakon Arnar Haraldsson and Remy Cabella also remain out with injury, but the form of David and Edon Zhegrova means Lille are still capable of being a big threat here.

Genesio made the brave decision to put both Zhegrova and David on the bench from the start against Atletico with one eye on the derby against Lens, and it turned out to be a masterstroke, as they won both games anyway despite the personnel changes.

Sage has a full complement available to him for this away trip, but after disciplinary breaches early in October, Wilfried Zaha and Gift Orban have been in and out of the Lyon squad since, failing to start any games.

An underwhelming start to the campaign saw Georges Mikautadze lose his place in the side early on, but a brace from the Georgian last week should see him keep his place for this one.

Mikautadze may be pushed out wide though if Alexandre Lacazette is reinstated to the starting XI, meaning Said Benrahma could be in danger of dropping to the bench, given that Malick Fofana is in excellent form on the opposite flank.

Lille possible starting lineup:
Chevalier; Meunier, Diakite, Mandi, Gudmundsson; Andre, Andre Gomes, Angel Gomes; Zhegrova, David, Sahraoui

Lyon possible starting lineup:
Lucas Perri; Maitland-Niles, Caleta-Car, Niakhate, Tagliafico; Matic, Veretout; Mikautadze, Cherki, Fofana; Lacazette

We say: Lille 2-1 Lyon

Despite an underwhelming recent record in this fixture, Lille have not lost back-to-back home games against Lyon since the mid-2000s, and will be the favourites given their form of late.

Lyon have stuttered again after appearing to turn a corner, and this will be a very difficult fixture in which to return to winning ways.


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