Friday night sees the return of the French top flight action in Ligue 1 with a mid-table clash between Monaco and Lille at the Stade Louis II with both teams keen to resume their respective campaigns with a positive result in this encounter.
11th placed Monaco had previously strung together an impressive three-match winning streak in Ligue 1 having recorded wins against Saint-Etienne, Clermont and Bordeaux but just prior to the last international break, the hosts had stumbled to just one win from their last four matches overall.
🔙 in @Ligue1_ENG this Friday! 🆚 @LOSC_EN pic.twitter.com/nn1BJXAlIX— AS Monaco EN (@AS_Monaco_EN) November 16, 2021
🔙 in @Ligue1_ENG this Friday! 🆚 @LOSC_EN pic.twitter.com/nn1BJXAlIX
That win came in the shape of a 3-1 home win against Montpellier but defeats to Lyon and Brest had pegged Monaco back and had prevented them from lifting themselves up into the top half of the domestic top flight.
However, it should be noted that both of these recent losses were incurred away from home while Monaco have won their last three home games on the trot and the bigger picture shows that the hosts have lost just three of their last 17 matches at the Stade Louis II.
Lille had also stuttered just before the international break as the visitors had failed to win any of their preceding four matches in Ligue 1, drawing with Brest and Angers at home but also losing their last two away matches on the trot, succumbing to defeats away at Clermont and PSG respectively.
Indeed, Lille have managed to win just four out of their last 13 matches in the French top flight and three of these four wins were achieved on home turf at their Stade Pierre-Mauroy, while results away from home have taken a definite turn for the worse.
Lille have collected just one win from their previous seven matches on their travels, that being a 2-1 win at Strasbourg but four defeats within this period at Lorient, Lens, Clermont and PSG suggest this Friday’s trip to Monaco could be a tough test for the visitors.
Seemingly, the best that Lille can hope for in Monaco is perhaps a draw and a share of the points would probably be the best outcome for both teams as they look to kick-start their respective campaigns.
The previous meeting between these two sides ended in a 0-0 stalemate and following the international break, another draw could be on the cards here.