Lille will look to extend their unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season to five matches when they welcome Nantes to the Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Friday evening.
The hosts played out a 1-1 draw with Marseille in their last outing, while Nantes ended Saint-Etienne's winning run as they shared the spoils with the table toppers in gameweek four.
Match preview
Lille won six and lost one of their last seven games of the curtailed 2019-20 campaign – with that one solitary defeat coming at the hands of Marseille – so Christophe Galtier's side would have no doubt been looking to avenge that loss when they travelled to the Orange Velodrome last weekend.
Lille looked to be on course to record their third victory on the bounce as Luiz Araujo put them into the lead, but Marseille equalised in the 85th minute through Valere Germain to take a share of the spoils.
Had Galtier's men held on for the win, they would have been equal on points with current pace setters Saint-Etienne and Rennes, but those top two sides are the only other teams in the top flight yet to taste defeat this season alongside Lille.
Something has to give when Saint-Etienne face off against Rennes in a top-of-the-table clash on Saturday, and should other results go their way as well, Lille could potentially find themselves leading the way by the close of play in gameweek five.
The onus will be on strike partners Burak Yilmaz and Jonathan David to deliver against Nantes – the two forwards are yet to open their accounts in Ligue 1 since arriving at Lille in the summer.
Meanwhile, Nantes supporters could not have been expecting much from their team when they took on a Saint-Etienne side who had enjoyed three victories from three in the new campaign.
However, Christian Gourcuff's men stopped the table-toppers in their tracks as Nantes battled to a 2-2 draw against Les Verts, with Renaud Emond coming off the bench to bag a late equaliser for Nantes on Sunday.
Two draws, one win and one defeat is not a bad start to the season by any means, and Nantes have been solid overall in the early stages of the 2020-21 campaign, but their record against their next opponents is nothing short of abysmal.
Lille have triumphed in the last four meetings with Nantes, while Les Canaris have only enjoyed one victory from their last 22 against Lille in the French top flight.
Lille Ligue 1 form: DWWD
Nantes Ligue 1 form: DWLD
Team News
Araujo will likely keep his place in the Lille XI following his goal against Marseille, meaning Jonathan Ikone may have to make do with a place on the bench once again.
Renato Sanches overcame a niggling injury to come off the substitutes bench last weekend, while left-back Reinildo returned from a suspension and could demote Domagoj Bradaric to the substitutes' bench here.
Other than that, Galtier has no other injury or suspension concerns heading into gameweek five.
As for Nantes, Imran Louza returns from a two-match ban and is in contention to slot right back into Gourcuff's starting lineup.
However, the 21-year-old will be battling with Abdoulaye Toure for a spot alongside Pedro Chirivella in midfield, with Mehdi Abeid potentially at risk of dropping down to the bench.
Emond will hope to be rewarded for his late equaliser against Saint-Etienne with a start here, with fellow striker Kalifa Coulibaly fighting to overcome a leg injury.
Lille possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Celik, Fonte, Botman, Reinildo; Araujo, Soumare, Andre, Bamba; Yilmaz, David
Nantes possible starting lineup:
Lafont; Appiah, Pallois, Girotto, Fabio; Chirivella, Traore; Coco, Blas, Simon; Emond
We say: Lille 2-1 Nantes
Lille have not been famed for their goalscoring record as of late, and the attacking cohort of Les Dogues must start firing if Lille are to maintain their strong start to the season over the next couple of months. Nantes are capable of making Friday's showdown an entertaining affair, but we think the hosts will do enough to just edge it and keep their unbeaten run going.
Top betting tip
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