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

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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.

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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.

Team News

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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

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.

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