On the matchday where Paris Saint-Germain will face Lyon, the clash at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy will rival that for the game of the weekend, when top-four hopefuls Lille and Monaco go head-to-head.
A defeat for the hosts could see them fall five points off the Champions League places despite spending most of the season in the top four, but a win would momentarily put them third.
Match preview
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Lille beat Rennes 2-0 on the road last weekend to make amends for a shock defeat in their last outing here at the Pierre-Mauroy, while also keeping their first clean sheet in nine games.
Bruno Genesio's men were beaten by bottom-of-the-table Le Havre 2-1 two weeks ago, their second defeat at home in 2024-25, and that is as many losses as they had suffered in both of the last two campaigns, and there are still six games to play here this season.
It is three years since Lille last suffered back-to-back defeats at home in Ligue 1, and the fact they have not won two matches in succession since October increases fears of them dropping more points here.
With 38 points after 22 games, Lille are down in fifth, but that is the exact tally they have had at this stage in both of the last two seasons, and they ended up finishing in the top four a year ago.
Monaco will test their top-four credentials, though, as the away side are often unwelcome visitors to the Pierre-Mauroy.
No visiting side has won on as many occasions in Ligue 1 as Monaco have here (14), but Les Dogues are doing their best to turn the tide, having now won back-to-back home games against the club from the principality, providing them with the opportunity to win three in a row for the first time in over a decade here.
Monaco will still be reeling from a heartbreaking and exhausting defeat on aggregate to Benfica in the Champions League on Tuesday.
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Adi Hutter's side trailed from the first leg, but levelled the tie on aggregate twice in Lisbon, before Orkun Kokcu's late strike saw the second leg end 3-3, sending the Portuguese side through courtesy of that win at the Stade Louis II.
Goals have been flying in at both ends of late, but mostly at the right end in Monaco's most recent league fixture, where they thrashed Nantes 7-1 - their biggest win in nine years.
Marseille, Nice, Lille and Lyon all won last weekend too, though, so Monaco were unable to make any ground on those sides, in what remains a hotly-contested battle for the three Champions League spots below PSG.
Starting the weekend in fourth, Monaco are only outside the automatic UCL places on goal difference, so conceding fewer goals should be the main area Hutter is working on at present.
Monaco's six league games in 2025 have provided 31 goals (18 for, 13 against), the highest in Europe's top-five leagues since the turn of the year, but that is not translating into many points on the road.
The visitors have not won any of their last five away games in Ligue 1, which is their longest run in six years, and only 14 of their 40 points have come on the road this season - the lowest proportion of any side in the top six.
Team News
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Lille's top scorer Jonathan David missed the win at Rennes, but he should return here, and while the goals may not be coming as frequently, the striker is still registering assists to help the team, with seven in his last 12 starts.
Important winger Edon Zhegrova continues to edge closer to a return after two months out, but this one may come too soon for him, while Mitchel Bakker is suspended after picking another yellow card against Le Havre.
Tiago Santos and Samuel Umtiti remain sidelined in defence with knee injuries, while further forward, Remy Cabella and Mathias Fernandez-Pardo are also struggling with setbacks at present.
The man to watch in this fixture will be Monaco's January signing Mika Biereth, who became the first player to score a hat trick for the club in two years against Auxerre, and he then repeated the trick against Nantes last weekend, netting seven goals in just five Ligue 1 games, making him their outright top scorer already.
Soungoutou Magassa is back from suspension but missed the trip to Benfica in midweek with injury, so may remain out here, while Aleksandr Golovin, Jordan Teze and Folarin Balogun are all doubtful.
Lille possible starting lineup:
Chevalier; Meunier, Diakite, Alexsandro, Ismaily; Andre, Andre Gomes, Mukau; Haraldsson, David, Sahraoui
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Majecki; Vanderson, Kehrer, Mawissa, Henrique; Camara, Zakaria; Akliouche, Minamino, Ben Seghir; Biereth
We say: Lille 1-1 Monaco
Lille are simply not winning enough games, and that has resulted in them dropping out of the top four, but they could do those hopes the world of good by claiming victory here.
Monaco will be tough opponents, though, and despite having a below-par away record, Hutter's side will make this competitive, in a game that is as tough to call as the race for the top four.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
