Seeking their first wins of the 2023-24 Ligue 1 campaign at the second attempt, Lille square off with Nantes at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Sunday lunchtime.

Les Dogues left it late to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw away to Nice on matchday one, while Les Canaris failed to hang on to a slender advantage in a 2-1 loss to Toulouse.

Match preview

Two months on from ending the 2022-23 season with a 1-1 stalemate away to relegated Troyes, Lille picked up where they left off when they visited Nice's Allianz Riviera fortress, although not until the fourth minute of second-half injury time would Les Dogues make the net ripple.

Gaetan Laborde's fine finish got Nice off the mark with 18 minutes played, but just as Les Aiglons seemed destined to cling on for maximum spoils, Angel Gomes's pinpoint free kick found the head of Bafode Diakite to draw Lille level with mere seconds remaining.

Marcin Bulka was left rooted to the spot as Diakite rose highest inside the six-yard box, as Nice rescued a point which leaves them in 10th place in the embryonic standings, not that many fans will be paying much attention to the table at this stage of proceedings.

Fonseca's men maybe deserved to edge the game on paper - recording 60% possession and 12 shots on the night - but Lille cannot dwell on those missed opportunities as they prepare to juggle domestic and continental commitments towards the end of the month.

Indeed, Les Dogues will soon do battle with Croatian outfit Rijeka for a place in the Europa Conference League group stages, prior to which they will seek a stellar sixth Ligue 1 win on the bounce at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, where they are unbeaten in 16 matches.

It has been almost 12 months since Les Dogues last suffered a top-flight defeat in front of the home faithful - losing 2-1 to recent opponents Nice on August 31 - which coincidentally was the same scoreline when Nantes renewed hostilities with Coupe de France finalists Toulouse last weekend.

Les Canaris - who were destroyed 5-1 in last year's cup showpiece - were on the path to redemption when Mustafa Mohamed found the top corner with a slick first-half penalty, but Zakaria Aboukhlal bravely bundled home at the back stick while colliding with Alban Lafont, who came off worse and had to be substituted.

While Lille benefitted from an injury-time goal in the opening weekend, Nantes were left to rue a late strike, as Rasmus Nicolaisen's header found its way past stand-in goalkeeper Denis Petric, condemning Pierre Aristouy to the worst possible start in the Stade de la Beaujoire hotseat.

Occupying the relegation playoff place after one game - a position Nantes are all too familiar with - Les Canaris are fighting an uphill battle to snap a seven-game losing streak on the road in Ligue 1, having not succeeded on the road since February's 2-0 win over demoted Ajaccio.

Furthermore, last year's Coupe de France runners-up are enduring a miserable 16-game winless run against Lille in all competitions - losing 2-1 on Les Dogues turf last term - and Nantes' most recent success in this fixture came all the way back in September 2015.

Team News

Lille navigated their opening draw with Nantes without the services of injured quartet Mohamed Bayo, Samuel Umtiti, Adam Ounas and Tiago Djalo, all of whom are in different stages of their recoveries from their respective issues.

Ounas is the furthest along in his rehabilitation but is unlikely to be risked this weekend, where Fonseca may ponder a change or two to his starting XI, especially given Gomes's crucial contribution last time out.

The former Manchester United starlet should be in with a strong chance of displacing Carlos Baleba, while Jonathan David leads the line in what is expected to be his final season in Dogues colours.

In contrast, Nantes number one Lafont was stretchered off following his collision with Aboukhlal last weekend, prior to which long-serving attacker Marcus Coco was also taken off on the hour mark.

Coco is only believed to have been suffering from cramps and should be fine for Sunday, but Lafont suffered a sickening fractured rib and will be absent for a couple of months, allowing Petric to stake his claim in between the sticks.

Jean-Charles Castelletto and Fabien Centonze have welcomed Lafont into the infirmary, although the former (hamstring) trained normally ahead of the Toulouse defeat and ought to be passed fit for this one.

Lille possible starting lineup:
Chevalier; Santos, Diakite, Alexsandro, Ismaily; Gomes, Andre; Zhegrova, Cabella, Haraldsson; David

Nantes possible starting lineup:
Petric; Castelletto, Pallois, Zeze; Pierre-Gabriel, Moutoussamy, Chirivella, Merlin; Mollet; Mohamed, Simon

We say: Lille 2-0 Nantes

Without their number one goalkeeper, Nantes' hopes of ending a dismal stretch of away form - as well as their lengthy winless run against Lille - are surely slim to none this weekend.

Fonseca's men turned the Stade Pierre-Mauroy into a fortress last season, and they should find a way to break down the defensive Nantes setup en route to all three points.


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