Fifth-placed Lille would climb to Champions League places with three points from this match, at least until their top 3 rivals Lyon and Saint Etienne square off on Sunday afternoon.

Sochaux, on the other hand, desperately need points in order to boost their survival hopes, which should guarantee us an exciting affair at Grand Stade Lille Metropole.

Nobody expected Lille to mount a serious top 3 challenge following what was a very disappointing start to the league campaign, but Rudi Garcia’s side showed an amazing improvement in the second part of the season.

Les Dogues won eight of last ten league fixtures to climb to fifth in the Ligue 1 standings and they are just three points behind the final Champions League berth.

Lille came from behind to win at Bastia last weekend and another victory would see the team climb to third place, for some 36 hours at least.

Taking into account team’s impressive showings at home, les Dogues look a good bet to win this game, at odds of 1.44 (4/9) offered at Paddy Power.

Captain Rio Mavuba could start his first match after a lengthy spell on the sidelines, while Tulio de Melo could be in contention after recovering from injury.

Djibril Sidibe and Ryan Mendes are closing in on their return, but they will not be considered for the Sochaux clash.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Elana – Beria, Chedjou, Basa, Digne – Balmont, Mavuba, Martin – Rodelin, Kalou, Payet.

Having opened the new campaign with four straight defeats, Sochaux nominated themselves as one of the main candidates for the drop.

Les Lionceaux have since been in and around the relegation positions and with just five games to go, they sit one point adrift of safety.

The team have been showing some improvement over the last few weeks, and they were unfortunate not to beat Bordeaux last weekend, having allowed their opponents to come from a goal down on two occasions and earn a 2-2 draw.

Given the severity of their situation, Sochaux might have to try and go for a win in Lille, and after scoring five goals in last four away fixtures, les Lionceaux are 2.00 (1/1) at Coral to score at least once at Grand Stade Lille Metropole.

Boss Eric Hely faces a real selection headache as Sebastien Roudet, Sebastien Corchia, Petrus Boumal and Roy Contout all face fitness tests.

Meanwhile, Edouard Boutin and Frederic Duplus remain in the infirmary and are definitely out of the trip to Lille.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-1-2): Pouplin – Corchia, Kante, Carlao, Roussillon – Lopy, Doubai, Nogueira – Boudebouz – Bakambu, Sio.

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