Two sides in excellent form but separated by 26 points in the Ligue 1 table will do battle at the Stade Louis II on Sunday lunchtime as Monaco take on Lorient.
Both sides go into this game having advanced to the next round of the Coupe de France in midweek, with the hosts overcoming Grenoble Foot 38 and Lorient sinking Paris FC.
Match preview
© Reuters
Manchester City's record-breaking winning run is grabbing all the headlines, but Monaco could very well match their English counterparts if their ruthless streak continues over the coming weeks.
A narrow 1-0 triumph in the cup against Grenoble, during which Stevan Jovetic scored the game's only goal, represented their eighth win on the bounce in all competitions - the longest streak out of any team in the French top flight - and their title charge is seriously gathering pace.
Despite having played a game more than fifth-placed Rennes, fourth-placed Monaco boast a seemingly-unassailable 10-point lead over their European rivals, and they are only six points off top spot amid their remarkable winning run, with current champions Paris Saint-Germain - who sit third - now within touching distance.
Niko Kovac's in-form charges have found the back of the net at least twice in their last eight top-flight matches, with the 50 goals they have already notched up only bettered by PSG, but a leaky defence could spell trouble for Les Monegasques, who have also kept just one clean sheet in their last eight in the league.
A six-pointer with PSG on February 21 follows the visit of Lorient for Monaco, so any slip-up this weekend for Kovac's side could seriously harm their title prospects, and the resurgent visitors are certainly not to be taken lightly.
© Reuters
No team want to become the next victims of a large-scale coronavirus outbreak, but Lorient appear to have used that time off to their advantage amid an unforeseen turnaround in fortunes.
January's victories over Dijon and PSG represented the start of Les Merlus' revival, with Christophe Pelissier witnessing his side win four of their last five in all competitions - including a 2-1 success over Paris in the Coupe de France.
A much-changed Lorient side did not have it all their own way against the Ligue 2 outfit, though, and Pelissier had to rely on substitutes Yoane Wissa and Terem Moffi - the latter notching up his sixth goal in eight matches - to bail his side out of trouble in midweek.
As far as Lorient's Ligue 1 fortunes are concerned, 10 points taken from a possible 12 has propelled them out of the relegation zone at the expense of Nantes, and with Les Merlus boasting a three-point cushion and a game in hand over their relegation rivals, there is plenty of cause for optimism if their current form continues.
Picking up another three points at the Stade Louis II will be a monumental ask, however, as Monaco crushed Lorient 5-2 earlier in the campaign and have found the back of the net in their last 17 league matches against their opponents, who have only won once away from home all season.
Monaco Ligue 1 form: WWWWWW
Monaco form (all competitions): WWWWWW
Lorient Ligue 1 form: LLWWDW
Lorient form (all competitions): LWWDWW
Team News
© Reuters
Monaco midfielder Youssouf Fofana sat out the victory over Grenoble due to suspension but will return here alongside Aurelien Tchouameni, meaning that Cesc Fabregas and Eliot Matazo are likely to make way.
Kovac, as expected, rested several of his big-name stars for the cup match, and the likes of Benoit Badiashile, Kevin Volland and Djibril Sidibe will all return after being left at home in midweek.
Aleksandr Golovin - who scored a hat-trick in last weekend's thrilling 4-3 win at Nimes - will also return to the fold, while Benjamin Lecomte, Caio Henrique, Guillermo Maripan and Wissam Ben Yedder should complete 10 changes for the hosts.
Lorient duo Paul Nardi and Vincent Le Goff are the last to recover from COVID-19 infection, but both players are expected to return to action within the next couple of weeks.
Wissa and Moffi will certainly return to the starting lineup after propelling Lorient to victory in midweek, and as is the case with Monaco, Lorient are set to ring the changes from their Coupe de France triumph.
Matthieu Dreyer, Thomas Monconduit, Laurent Abergel and Enzo Le Fee - the latter of whom is back from suspension - will all hope to make their returns to the first XI for the trip to Monaco.
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Lecomte; Sidibe, Maripan, Badiashile, Henrique; Golovin, Fofana, Tchouameni, Diop; Ben Yedder, Volland
Lorient possible starting lineup:
Dreyer; Mendes, Laporte, Gravillon, Morel, Hergault; Lauriente, Monconduit, Abergel, Wissa; Moffi
We say: Monaco 3-1 Lorient
Lorient will be fully aware of Monaco's leaky defence - which is there to be breached - and the 17th-placed visitors are certainly capable of pulling off a shock result this weekend. However, Monaco are crushing everything in their wake and will be desperate to keep the pressure on PSG before they meet the champions next weekend, so we are expecting a ninth win on the trot for Kovac's side.
Top betting tip
Ben Knapton
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Monaco win with a probability of 68.85%. A draw had a probability of 18.3% and a win for Lorient had a probability of 12.89%.
The most likely scoreline for a Monaco win was 2-0 with a probability of 11.27%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (10.01%) and 2-1 (9.71%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.62%), while for a Lorient win it was 0-1 (3.83%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 4.2% likelihood.
