Lille are on the verge of slipping to the relegation zone following yet another disappointing result, so no doubts this is a must-win game for them.

Meanwhile, Saint Etienne hammered Guingamp to end a two-match losing run and they are now looking to pile more misery on les Dogues.

Lille established themselves as one of league’s top sides over the last five or six years, but it appears that everything that could go wrong did go wrong this season.

Les Dogues did see several star players leave in the summer, but they also made some decent signings, with talented coach Herve Renard arriving as well.

But, the squad rebuilding process proved much more difficult than expected, and the AFCON winner was ultimately relieved of his post, to the dismay of senior players.

The arrival of Frederic Antonetti did not bring instant improvement as les Dogues suffered a 2-0 loss to Angers and now sit mere two points above the relegation positions.

Having last won a Ligue 1 game two months ago, they clearly have little to hope for ahead of the visit of high-flying Saint Etienne.

Selection problems continue to mount for Lille as both Renato Civelli and Sofiane Boufal are banned, whilst Marko Basa, Mounir Obbadi and Franck Beria are out injured.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Enyeama – Corchia, Sunzu, Soumaoro, Sidibe – Martin, Mavuba, Balmont – Nangis, Tallo, Bautheac.

Similar to their next opponents, Saint Etienne have been achieving very good results of late, and they seem ready to challenge for Champions League positions yet again.

Les Verts have been forced to balance between the Ligue 1 and Europa League campaigns, which has taken a toll on the squad, but so far they have done well in both competitions.

Saint Etienne recorded double win over Dnipro to secure their place in the EL knockout stages with a game to spare, whereas they now sit just one point behind top 3 positions in the league.

Back to back defeats to Lyon and Marseille could have destabilised a team without character, but not les Verts, who went on to hammer Guingamp 3-0 and climbed back to fifth in the overall standings.

Boasting a 3-0-4 away record in the league, Saint Etienne are clearly quite unpredictable, but they look a good bet to see off struggling Lille at 3.40 (12/5).

Moustapha Bayal Sall is banned for the Lille game, whilst Robert Beric, Benjamin Corgnet, Florentin Pogba and Kevin Theophile Catherine are out injured.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Ruffier – Pierre-Gabriel, Perrin, Polomat, Assou-Ekotto – Lemoine, Clement – Hamouma, Eysseric, Monnet-Paquet – Roux.