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In the final match from the seventh round of Ligue 1 fixtures, Lille take on Nantes at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in a game where both sides need a win to avoid being dragged towards the bottom three.
Lille v Nantes
Date 29/09/2015 – Venue – Stade Pierre-Mauroy – Kick Off 17:30 (UK Time)
This is quite an unpredictable game between Lille in 15th and Nantes in 17th as they are both having problems in the early parts of the season.
The hosts have played almost all of the in-form sides already and this may be the reason for their low league position. Despite their strong defence; only conceding three goals in their opening seven games, Lille have struggled in front of goal, finding the net just twice. A win could take them up to 11th in the league ahead of Friday’s home match against Montpellier; another winnable game.
Vincent Enyeama may be back for Lille following his suspension which kept him out in the game at Rennes. The injury news for the hosts is just Adama Soumaoro and Florent Balmont who are both sidelined with hamstring strains; they may not be risked for this match.
Nantes are desperate for a win or any form of result for that matter following four successive Ligue 1 defeats. Their defence was a strong point earlier in the season; keeping three clean sheets in their opening three games but since playing Bordeaux, Rennes, Saint-Étienne and PSG they have leaked ten goals. Similar to Lille, they haven’t been clinical enough in the final third scoring just three goals and have fallen to 17th in the league. With Montpellier closing the gap at the weekend to three points, Nantes need all three points in this match before the tough trip to Nice on Saturday.
The team news for Nantes is Youssouf Sabaly out with a thigh problem, Emiliano Sala with a problem with his teeth and Remi Gomis also sidelined. These three players haven’t featured a great deal for Les Canaris this season so Michel Der Zakarian doesn’t face too many problems with his team selection.
With both teams needing a victory it should be quite a reserved game but featuring lots of counter-attacking football.
