Ligue 1's basement side play hosts to the league leaders on Wednesday evening as Dijon welcome Lille to the North-East of France.
Christophe Galtier's men jumped to the summit of French football over the weekend after Paris Saint-Germain suffered their fourth domestic defeat of the season and will see this as the perfect opportunity to cement their place at the top.
Match preview
© Reuters
Dijon may be rooted to the foot of the Ligue 1 table, but they are also currently on a three-game unbeaten run that includes their solitary league win of the season - a 3-1 conquest over Nice at the end of last month.
Draws with Saint-Etienne and Nantes respectively have followed on from that result over Patrick Vieira's former side, although they have not been enough to lift David Linares's men away from danger.
Surprisingly, Dijon have been relatively strong defensively, with their 22 goals conceded matching the total of seventh-placed Angers; where Les Hiboux's problems lie is going forwards.
Just nine goals in 14 top-flight matches is by far the worst attacking record in the league and is of major concern for their prospects this season.
While Dijon have struggled to find the back of the net this campaign, their upcoming opponents have had no such trouble.
Lille are the second highest-scorers in the division after a Kylian Mbappe and Neymar powered PSG and will be looking to utilise their ability in the final third in midweek.
The early table-toppers are on a four-match unbeaten run domestically and will be looking to build on their 2-1 win over Bordeaux last time out.
Galtier's men lost several key names over the summer but have replaced them well. They currently lead Lyon on goal difference after picking up 29 points in 2020-21, and will need to acquire another win if they have serious ambitions of playing Champions League football next season.
They have lost just once in Ligue 1 coming into this encounter, and their joint-best defensive record means they are clear favourites for the upcoming clash.
Dijon Ligue 1 form: DDLWDD
Lille Ligue 1 form: DLWDWW
Lille form (all competitions): DDWWLW
Team News
© Reuters
Senegal international midfielder Pape Cheikh is available after serving a one-match ban last time out and is expected to slot straight back into the starting lineup.
Dijon have a clean bill of health and will need all of their key players on top form if they are to get anything out of this one.
Right-back Zeki Celik is Lille's solitary injury concern, with the Turkey international suffering from an ankle problem.
Who starts up-front will be Galtier's biggest decision, with Jonathan David, Burak Yilmaz and Yusuf Yazici competing for the two strikers' roles.
Dijon possible starting lineup:
Racioppi; Boey, Panzo, Manga, Muzinga; Ndong, Cheikh; Ebimbe, Celina, Chouiar; Balde
Lille possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Pied, Fonte, Botman, Mandava; Ikone, Andre, Soumare, Bamba; David, Yilmaz
We say: Dijon 0-3 Lille
In 2019-20 these two shared a pair of 1-0 home victories, but with their vastly opposing early fortunes, this time around it is hard to see Dijon repeating the trick at the Stade Gaston Gerard.
Lille should have too much firepower for Linares's struggling side and will likely come away comfortable winners.
Top betting tip
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 Lille win with a probability of 50.87%. A draw had a probability of 25.6% and a win for Dijon had a probability of 23.53%.
The most likely scoreline for a Lille win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.6%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (9.73%) and 1-2 (9.36%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.11%), while for a Dijon win it was 1-0 (7.85%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 9.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Lille would win this match.
