Lille welcome Saint-Etienne to the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Ligue 1 on Saturday night after a memorable evening in Europe during the week.
Bruno Genesio's side continued their sensational season by finishing in the top eight of the league phase in the Champions League, nicely freeing up their schedule in February, by avoiding the playoffs.
Match preview
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After having their 21-game unbeaten run ended by Liverpool at Anfield last midweek, and suffering a first defeat in 14 matches domestically away at Strasbourg last weekend, Lille responded in emphatic fashion.
A 6-1 mauling of Feyenoord in a winner-takes-all clash saw Lille take the final last 16 spot in the league phase, meaning they can now focus solely on reclaiming their place in the top four in Ligue 1.
A response is needed domestically too after Nice leapfrogged Genesio's men last weekend, but superb home form and a brilliant record against Les Verts suggests it could be a happy weekend for the hosts.
Lille have scored in 34 successive home league games now, the longest current run across Europe's top-five leagues, while they are also unbeaten in 21 matches against Saint-Etienne at the Mauroy, last falling to defeat all the way back in 1993.
This is their longest ever unbeaten run against a single opponent in their league history, but a repeat of the two 0-0 draws that have taken place in the past two encounters here would be slightly disappointing.
Saint-Etienne are also one of the rare clubs to have beaten Lille this season, doing so back in mid-September, extending a five-game unbeaten run for ASSE in this fixture.
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A draw would be a very welcome result for the visitors, who after drawing only one of their first 17 games this season, have now drawn their last two.
A defeat to Paris Saint-Germain prior to that means that Saint-Etienne are currently only their joint-longest winless run this season (three matches), but that does not tell the whole story, as plenty of improvements have been made under new manager Eirik Horneland.
Going away to Auxerre as they did last weekend has been tricky for many teams this season, and Les Verts were able to take a point, moving them out of the bottom three, and above Rennes in 15th.
With the bottom five becoming slightly detached, and a feeling that Rennes eventually will turn their season around after heavy investment this month, ASSE must continue to pick points up regularly, otherwise they could be left behind, with the likes of Angers and Montpellier starting to show form.
Team News
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Both Alexsandro and Jonathan David are available for Lille after they sat out with suspension at Strasbourg last weekend, but while Benjamin Andre was banned in Europe, he is also suspended domestically, after reaching the yellow card limit in both competitions.
Aissa Mandi is available again after missing the win over Feyenoord with a ban, but left-back Ismaily is a doubt with a calf injury, joining fellow defenders Samuel Umtiti and Tiago Santos on the sidelines.
David's partner-in-crime Edon Zhegrova remains out with a groin issue, but Lille proved they can score without both of them, as the Canadian striker only started as a substitute on Wednesday, but he did grab a goal off the bench.
Saint-Etienne remain without a number of players due to injury, including attacking options Ben Old and Ibrahima Wadji, while Yvann Macon and Thomas Monconduit continue on their long road to recovery.
Benjamin Bouchouari and Louis Mouton are both back from suspension though, while there could be a second debut for Irvin Cardona, who has arrived on loan from Augsburg, back at the club where he scored 10 goals in ASSE's promotion campaign last season.
Ibrahim Sissoko remains suspended though, having served just four games of his lengthy seven-game ban, following the red card he picked up for violent conduct against Marseille.
Lille possible starting lineup:
Chevalier; Meunier, Alexsandro, Diakite, Gudmundsson; Andre Gomes, Mukau, Angel Gomes; Haraldsson, David, Cabella
Saint-Etienne possible starting lineup:
Larsonneur; Appiah, Batubinsika, Nade, Petrot; Amougou, Ekwah, Fomba; Boakye, Stassin, Davitashvili
We say: Lille 0-0 Saint-Etienne
Saint-Etienne have not lost any of their last five games against Lille, and recent improvements suggest they can compete with clubs chasing Europe.
Lille have been notorious for being draw specialists in Ligue 1 this season, and in a fixture that has seen just five goals scored in its last five iterations, another drab affair could await.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
