Lille Vs Montpellier Betting: Lille – 13 December 2019

Les Douges set for fourth successive Ligue 1 win?

Pedro Mendes/Montpellier ©imago images / PanoramiC 12.12.2019

Lille Vs Montpellier

Friday 13th December 2019 – 19:45 Kick-Off
French Ligue 1
Pick: Lille to WIN
Odds: 7/8
Bookmaker: Betway
French Ligue 1 Betting at 22Bet
(All betting odds displayed were correct as of 11th December 2019 at 12:10)

Preview: Slightly less than 72 hours since they were in England losing yet another Champions League group game, Lille return to Ligue 1 action where they are bidding to land a fourth successive league victory when they welcome a Montpellier side without an away win all season to the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

Lille Vs Montpellier Live Stats & Betting Odds

 

Lille Preview – Galtier to mastermind fourth straight Ligue 1 victory?

Three days after bowing out of continental competition for the season, after finishing bottom of their Champions League section following a fifth defeat in six group stage matches away to Chelsea (2-1), Lille (3rd – W8 D4 L5, GF21 GA15) make a rather swift return to competitive action. Perhaps now, without the distraction and strains of those European endeavours, this team will build on some promising foundations which sees them begin this latest round of Ligue 1 fixtures third in the standings.

Form has certainly perked up of late as well. From the end of September, a rotten two month spell almost threatened to derail what was shaping up to be another promising campaign from a club that seen out the last term in second. A dire run of one win from seven (W1 D3 L3) caused them to sharply plummet downwards, but a recent three-game winning sequence has steered them back into third, still some six points behind the league’s in-form side, Marseille.

All of their recent triumphs were deserved according to Expected Goals, which means Les Douges continue to produce consistently good performances (Infogol rates them as the second best team in Ligue 1). However, none were in any way convincing in terms of the scorelines, winning all three 1-0. What it does mean is that their previous five league victories were accompanied by a clean sheet, with Christophe Galtier’s men efficient rather than explosive: the last time Lille scored more than once in a league setting was at home to Bordeaux in a 3-0 success on 26 October (7 games ago).

 

Lille Win To Nil
7/4

Bet365

 

Montpellier Preview – Previously reliable rearguard beginning to creak?

For a long time it appeared as though Montpellier (10th – W6 D6 L5, GF21 GA17) were all set to become the fourth club in Ligue 1 this season to register a win against Paris Saint-Germain. A Leandro Paredes own goal shortly before half-time handed them the initiative, one they maintained until the final fifteen minutes of last week’s contest before the concession of three goals undermined all their hard work. In the end, a 3-1 defeat was about right (xG: MON 0.36 – 1.56 PSG).

This has been a difficult period for La Paillade. Particularly from a defensive standpoint, which was once the fulcrum of a side whose early season displays were built around solid defending and stubborn resolve. Their first fourteen fixtures seen them concede more than one goal on one solitary occasion, but that has become three from three following recent results with Amiens (W4-2), Dijon (2-2) and PSG (1-3). Not a good sign ahead of facing arguably the division’s most clinical side.

Away from home manager Michel Der Zakarian has overseen a couple of 2-2 draws, at Dijon and Metz (both flirting with relegation zone presently), in the last three with a goalless affair at St. Etienne sandwiched between. They’ve scored just six times in eight away fixtures so far (only six teams have managed fewer) and won none, registering a paltry return of 5 points from a possible 24. Therefore this could be a long evening for team which failed to score in either fixture with Lille in 2018-19, and whose last victory as the visiting side dates back to 2011 (D3 L4 since).

 

Lille Vs Monthpellier Key Facts:

  • As the home side in Ligue 1 so far this season, Lille have collected 21 from 27 possible points and remain unbeaten (W7 D2).
  • Performing on the road continues to pose a problem for Montpellier, who are winless in eight said matches in Ligue 1 (D5 L3).
  • Just the one goal was scored across their two head-to-head encounters last term, with Lille 1-0 winners on their travels but drawing 0-0 as hosts.

 

Betting Summary

Lille (7/8 Betway) are currently in third and climbing, in decent form with three successive Ligue 1 wins, and possess the best overall process in the league other than perennial winners PSG. Then we have Montpellier (18/5 Ladbrokes), who are tenth, heavily reliant on their home form to keep them ticking over (19 out of their 24 points thus far coming in these fixtures), have suddenly started leaking more goals than usual and have a dismal record on the road where they are still to record a win all season.

Football is rarely straightforward, though, and Montpellier were defensively sound for much of this campaign to suggest they could frustrate a Lille team that is hardly prolific nor renowned for winning games convincingly. This is also a surprisingly quick turnaround for the hosts, who were only in Champions League action 72 hours earlier. I suspect the home side will prevail though, as they have done on seven of nine occasions so far (W7 D2), but it might be another grind. Lille & Under 3.5 Goals is 11/8 (Betway).