Lyon vs Lille

Lyon’s uphill task to make amends for the club’s worst Ligue 1 start in the 21st century faces a stern test as fourth-placed Lille arrive at the Groupama Stadium.

Lyon saw a glimmer of light at the end of a long tunnel on the eve of the international break as Jake O’Brien’s goal midway through the second half fired them to a 1-0 away win against 10-man Rennes. It took ‘Les Gones’ 11 rounds into the new Ligue 1 campaign to post their first victory (D4, L6), yet they commence this round nailed to the bottom of the table, five points adrift of safety. Groupama Stadium was supposed to be Lyon’s safe shelter, but they’ve gone winless in all six home league games this term (D3, L3), conceding a whopping 14 goals while only netting seven in return. The road to redemption is long for Fabio Grosso’s team, and one win in their last 13 H2Hs against Lille (D6, L6).

Unlike their troubled hosts, visiting Lille entered the international break as genuine top-three candidates, trailing third-placed Monaco by four points after going unbeaten in their last six Ligue 1 outings (W3, D3). Bringing other competitions into the equation, ‘Les Dogues’ are undefeated in nine consecutive matches (W4, D5) since falling to a 2-1 home loss to Reims in September. However, three straight low-scoring draws in the build-up to this trip won’t inspire much confidence, and neither can the fact Paulo Fonseca’s men have netted under 1.5 goals on their last four competitive travels (D4). Indeed, Lille’s travel sickness requires the Portuguese manager’s undivided attention, with his side only registering two victories across their last 14 Ligue 1 road trips (D8, L4).