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NederlandLille will aspire to maintain their position at the top of the Ligue 1 rankings when they welcome a lowly Nimes to the Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Sunday afternoon.
The visitors' last game saw them draw 1-1 with Montpellier HSC, while Lille head into the match after being dumped out of the Coupe de France by Paris Saint-Germain.
Match preview
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No team is safe from the wrath of Kylian Mbappe at the minute, as the Frenchman scored one goal from the penalty spot before adding a delightful second in a resounding 3-0 win for PSG against their title rivals Lille in the Coupe de France on Wednesday evening.
Mauro Icardi also bagged one of the easiest goals he will score in his career from close range as Christophe Galtier's men proved no match for the perennial cup winners in the capital, but Les Dogues remain ahead of the reigning league champions in the race for top-flight glory, which is undoubtedly the trophy that Lille supporters so crave.
The league leaders remain three points clear at the top of the rankings following a 0-0 draw with Monaco last week, and they were indebted to Nantes and Reims - who beat PSG and drew with Lyon respectively - as the title race did not take any dramatic turns with all four contenders failing to win in gameweek 29.
Galtier's side have actually managed to win just three of their last nine matches across all competitions, but a goalless stalemate with Monaco extended their unbeaten run in Ligue 1 to 11 matches - with eight of those ending in victory - and Lille's dogged rearguard has only been breached three times in that astonishing run.
Furthermore, Lille have only lost once at home in the league all season - shipping a league-low eight goals on familiar soil - and the league leaders can ill-afford to drop any more points this weekend, as the champions PSG lie in wait for the challengers once again following the international break.
The Pascal Plancque revolution at Nimes has lost a bit of momentum in recent weeks, but the 57-year-old has at least given Les Crocodiles a fighting chance of survival with only nine games left to play this season.
Indeed, the 19th-placed side are highly unlikely to be caught by Dijon - who are rock bottom with only 15 points, 11 behind Nimes - and 17th-placed Lorient are within touching distance, although Nantes are starting to prove their Ligue 1 credentials under new management as well, so the stage is set for a fascinating relegation battle in the coming weeks.
Plancque managed to guide his side to three successive victories over Dijon, Bordeaux and Lorient last month, although they have failed to win any of their three matches since and took a point from their battle with Montpellier last weekend, as Moussa Kone broke the deadlock before Andy Delort unsurprisingly levelled for La Paillade.
With Lorient and Nantes going head-to-head in a pivotal clash two hours before Nimes kick off against Lille, Les Crocodiles will be encouraged by the fact that at least one of their relegation rivals will drop points, but no matter what happens this weekend, they will remain in the bottom three for the time being.
Furthermore, six of Nimes' last eight away matches in the top flight have ended in defeat, and after scraping a 1-0 victory earlier in the season thanks to Burak Yilmaz's winner, Lille are aiming to extend their unbeaten league streak against Les Crocodiles to eight matches this week.
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Team News
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With Burak Yilmaz now returning to fitness after a lengthy injury layoff, Lille have a near-fully fit squad at a crucial point of the campaign, but Renato Sanches remains a doubt after a foot injury forced him to miss Wednesday's defeat.
The 35-year-old started and lasted 45 minutes against PSG before being substituted, and the Turkish forward could therefore start again as he works his way back to full fitness, with Jonathan David expected to come back in after Yusuf Yazici's penalty miss in the cup.
Jose Fonte and Reinildo should both return to the defence after being benched in midweek, while Benjamin Andre, Jonathan Ikone and Jonathan Bamba are all expected to earn recalls too.
Nimes left-back Florian Miguel had to come off on the stroke of half-time against Montpellier, but the defender did not suffer a serious injury and should be fine for the trip to Lille.
Miguel's fellow full-back Birger Meling is back from suspension, though, and his return could see Miguel move back into the heart of defence alongside Loick Landre, with Naomichi Ueda potentially dropping out.
Anthony Briancon, Sidy Sarr and Pablo Martinez all remain in the Nimes treatment room, and Plancque could be tempted to recall Niclas Eliasson to the first XI for this battle.
Lille possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Celik, Fonte, Botman, Reinildo; Ikone, Andre, Soumare, Bamba; David, Yilmaz
Nimes possible starting lineup:
Reynet; Alakouch, Landre, Miguel, Meling; Cubas; Ferhat, Fomba, Ripart, Eliasson; Kone
We say: Lille 2-0 Nimes
Nimes have demonstrated that they are no pushovers under Plancque, but attempting to get one over the league leaders is surely too much of an ask for the 19th-placed Crocodiles. With Galtier potentially having everyone fit and available for this tie, there is hardly a better opportunity for Lille to right the wrongs of their midweek cup defeat, and a routine win for Les Dogues is the only outcome that we can see.
