Nantes and Lille are in a battle for Champions League qualification to next season’s tournament. Lille are currently sixth in the division and seven points off the top three while Nantes are seventh and eight points back of the final Champions League qualification place.
The Canaries go into the game on Saturday at home with Lille coming off of a 1-0 loss to Troyes last time out in Ligue 1. The defeat ended a four-game unbeaten streak for Nantes in the division.
📸🛠 𝗟𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗼𝗻Retour en 🎞 sur la séance de l'entraînement des Canaris 👇— FC Nantes (@FCNantes) March 18, 2022
📸🛠 𝗟𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗼𝗻Retour en 🎞 sur la séance de l'entraînement des Canaris 👇
Lille are on a five-match undefeated streak in Ligue 1. Les Dogues claimed a nil-nil draw last time in Ligue 1 play. Although Lille are in good Ligue 1 form, they lost 2-1 to Chelsea on Wednesday in the Champions League last 16 second leg.
Les Dogues are in excellent form. They picked up 11 points from the last 18 points available in the division. Goals continue to be in short supply for Lille as just seven were scored in their last six games. Meanwhile, Lille conceded five times.
Lille have scored 37 goals in 28 matches in Ligue 1, while conceding 35 times. They failed to score in two of their last four matches in the division.
Nantes picked up 10 points from the last 18 points available in Ligue 1. The Canaries also struggled to get goals at times, bagging just six goals across the last six games. The team’s defence was excellent in recent games conceding just three times.
Defender Nicolas Pallois has a sprained knee and is ruled out of the fixture for Nantes. Midfielder Marcus Coco could join Pallois on the sidelines due to an ankle injury. Forward Jean-Kevin Augustin is a doubt with a groin injury, while Fabio da Silva could feature following an ankle injury.
Lille’s Renato Sanches suffered a thigh injury last weekend versus Saint-Etienne. He will likely miss the trip to Nantes on Saturday. Sven Botman left the match with Chelsea in the first half on Wednesday night with what is suspected as a glute injury. He is unlikely to feature versus Nantes.
Nantes and Lille drew 1-1 in the reverse fixture as Burak Yilmaz’s ninth-minute goal was cancelled out by Ludovic Blas on 24 minutes. Fabio was sent off in the second half for Nantes.
Saturday’s match should finish in a similar 1-1 draw between these teams. Both are fighting for European qualification, but a stalemate is with under 2.5 goals could see neither team get a leg up in the race for the top three.