Two giants of the French game languishing in mid-table

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Two giants of the French game languishing in mid-table do battle at the Stade Louis II on Friday night, as Monaco play host to Ligue 1 champions Lille. Niko Kovac’s men currently occupy 11th spot in the rankings, while the holders sit one place and two points below their upcoming hosts.

Very few could have expected that this Ligue 1 game between Monaco and Lille would be a mid-table clash in 2021/22, considering these two teams were part of a thrilling four-way title fight last season. However, Stade Louis II has at least been a hostile place for travelling teams lately, with hosts Monaco winning their previous three Ligue 1 home fixtures.

While the Monegasque outfit scored nine goals across that trio – which is more than in the six before – their ability to find the net consistently remains in question. Niko Kovač’s men have gone 298 minutes of play without scoring a goal in all competitions, while they’ve failed to score in a league-worst 46% of their Ligue 1 matches so far.

Sixteen points from 13 Ligue 1 games represents a poor start for champions Lille, and their current winless run of league matches (D2, L2) is the club’s longest since December 2018. ‘Le LOSC’ still sit in the bottom half of the table ahead of this matchday, and only once across their previous 32 L1 campaigns have they conceded more goals at this stage (19)!

The visitors’ biggest concern lies on the road though, as they’ve claimed just one win away from home after seven attempts so far this top-flight season (D2, L4). That’s in sharp contrast to last season, when Lille finished the season 14 games unbeaten on their Ligue 1 travels, winning a staggering 12 of those fixtures.

Date: 19/11/2021
Time: 23:00
Venue: Stade Louis II (Monaco)
Pick for this match:
“1” – @ 2.19 ( Betway )