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Lille
Ligue 1 | Gameweek 25
Feb 18, 2022 at 8pm UK
Stade Lille-Metropole
Metz logo

Lille
0 - 0
Metz


Zhegrova (83'), Fonte (87'), Djalo (90+7')
Zhegrova (90+1'), Gourvennec (90+5')
FT

Maiga (22'), Kouyate (67'), Caillard (79'), Amadou (90+7')

Preview: Lille vs. Metz - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Friday's Ligue 1 clash between Lille and Metz, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Two sides who have fallen below expectations in Ligue 1 this season meet in the weekend's first game as Lille welcome Metz to Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Friday evening.

The reigning champions' stuttering title defence sees them stuck in midtable, whilst their visitors dropped into the relegation zone last weekend.


Match preview

Lille's Sven Botman celebrates scoring their first goal on February 6, 2022© Reuters

Lille bounced back from a tough couple of weeks - where a 2-0 loss to Brest was followed up by a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain - with a win last weekend.

Les Dogues travelled to Montpellier and came away with all three points after Xeka smashed home the game's only goal 13 minutes from time.

That result moves Jocelyn Gourvennec's side back into the top half and, perhaps surprisingly, the battle for European football next campaign.

The tight nature of the top half of the table means that they are only two points shy of fifth-placed Rennes, and just seven points from former manager Christophe Galtier's Nice side in third, after back-to-back defeats for Les Aiglons.

Another three points would likely finally build some momentum this season, and their upcoming opponents will likely provide them a good opportunity of doing just that.

Metz's Habib Maiga celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates on February 13, 2022© Reuters

Metz have been struggling through the winter months, with just two victories in contrast to their six defeats since the start of December.

They were unable even to beat fourth-tier Bergerac Perigord in the Coupe de France and have scored just twice in their last five games.

One of those came in Sunday's match with Marseille, though, and Les Grenats were unfortunate not to come away with at least a point against the league's second-placed side.

Habib Maiga cancelled out Cedric Bakambu's opener to deservedly level the match early in the second half, only for a piece of magic from Arkadiusz Milik to secure a 2-1 victory for OM and condemn Metz to 19th place.

Frederic Antonetti said he thought his side's performance warranted a draw, and that single point would have made all the difference in a bottom five now incredibly separated by just one point.

Lille Ligue 1 form:
  • W
  • D
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • W

Lille form (all competitions):
  • L
  • D
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • W

Metz Ligue 1 form:
  • D
  • L
  • W
  • L
  • D
  • L



Team News

Lille's Renato Sanches in action with Sevilla's Marcos Acuna, October 20, 2021© Reuters

Lille will remain without the services of Renato Sanches and Isaac Lihadji, who are recuperating from groin and thigh injuries respectively.

The league's joint-second top scorer Jonathan David has now gone five league games without a goal - although he did score two in three games for Canada in the middle of that spell - and will be desperate to get back on the scoresheet.

He will likely remain in a front two alongside Angel Gomes, although Burak Yilmaz is also pushing for a start.

The visitors have considerably more injury worries, with five players currently in the treatment room.

Nicolas De Preville (calf), Fabien Centonze (thigh), Kevin N'Doram (foot), Matthieu Udol (ACL) and Manuel Cabit (long-term leg injuries) are all ruled out for Friday's game.

Lille possible starting lineup:
Jardim, Celik, Fonte, Botman, Djalo; Gudmundsson, Andre, Yilmaz, Bamba; Gomes, David

Metz possible starting lineup:
Caillard; Bronn, Kouyate, Amadou, Cande; Traore, Pajot, Delaine; Boulaya; Mafouta, Niane


SM words green background

We say: Lille 1-0 Metz

Metz will be determined to make up for their painful loss to Marseille and will know that they are playing a club who can certainly be beaten on their weaker days. However, we are backing the champions to make it back-to-back wins and reignite their charge for a European spot.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data



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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 56.67%. A draw had a probability of 23.9% and a win for Metz had a probability of 19.45%.

The most likely scoreline for a Lille win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.72%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.85%) and 2-1 (9.66%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.32%), while for a Metz win it was 0-1 (6.64%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 7.5% likelihood.


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Game History

How you voted: Lille vs Metz

Lille
84.3%
Draw
10.2%
Metz
5.5%
127
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Paris Saint-GermainPSG12102036102632
2MonacoMonaco1282221101126
3Marseille1272327161123
4Lille115421811719
5Lyon125431916319
6Reims125342016418
7Nice1145221111017
8Lens124531312117
9Auxerre115152019116
10Toulouse124351314-115
11StrasbourgStrasbourg113442022-213
12Brest124171622-613
13Saint-EtienneSt Etienne124171125-1413
14Rennes113261318-511
15NantesNantes112451417-310
16Angers112451320-710
17Le HavreLe Havre11308823-159
18Montpellier HSCMontpellier122191132-217


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