Lille vs Metz prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2023-12-02 16:05.
Unbeaten in seven in Ligue 1 (W4, D3) and sitting pretty in fourth place ahead of this round of fixtures, Lille are currently on track for their fifth top-five finish from the last six seasons and will hope to improve on their fifth-place finish in 2022/23 in the process. Once again, the Mastiffs have been strong at home this league campaign (W4, D1, L1) and have picked up 12 such wins at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy across the calendar year.
Ahead of Sunday’s clash with Metz, Paulo Fonseca’s men have enjoyed successive 2-0 away victories, including in Slovenia on Thursday night when they saw off Olimpija Ljubljana to guarantee a top-two finish in their UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) group. However, so far this term, they have triumphed only twice immediately after a UECL outing (D2, L2), so Fonseca will be hoping that this week’s round trip of around 2500km has not taken too much out of his team.
Metz have a significant journey of their own to contend with here, and it has not been a happy route to take over the years, with only one win at Lille from 1995 onwards (D6, L8) and no goals for the away side in each of their last three visits. That said, the Maroons did pick up three points last Sunday at relegation-threatened Lorient and, ahead of this weekend’s games, only three sides have accumulated more points on their travels in Ligue 1 than their total of ten this season.
Having aggregated nine promotions or relegations over the last 12 campaigns, Metz are a modern-day yo-yo club, but under Romanian manager László Bölöni, they currently sit comfortably in mid-table, unbeaten in their last four (W2, D2) and looking set to avoid another change of division come the end of 2023/24.
Players to watch: Yusuf Yazıcı scored Lille’s second in Slovenia to back up his assist at Lyon last Sunday and he has found the net twice in Ligue 1 this term, with both goals coming at home. For Metz, winger Kevin Van Den Kerkhof has contributed to a goal inside three minutes in the last two league matches (G1, A1).
Hot streak: Metz have not conceded an opener in any of their last five Ligue 1 encounters.