With February already upon us, the business end of the season is edging ever nearer. Two sides fighting for a European place face off on Friday evening as Lille play host to Nice.

STATS

• Lille have had a fantastic campaign so far after almost being relegated in both of the last two. They sit 2^nd in the table behind PSG, albeit with a 13-point gap between the sides. Their form has been exemplary with four wins out of their last five in the league, allowing them to hold Lyon at arm’s length.
• Nice have struggled to replicate the form that made them title challengers last term but they still occupy 7^th place. With just two wins in their last eight, they are showing no signs of pushing into the Champions League spots. They did pick up a win last time out with a 2-0 win against Nimes.
• Nicolas Pepe is the man leading Lille’s great season with 15 goals in Ligue 1, only Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani have managed more.
• Allan Saint-Maximin has enjoyed a strong campaign so far with six goals which is more than any of his team-mates.

HEAD TO HEAD

Lille might look like the favourites for three points in this one but they haven’t beaten Nice in the league since 2012, a run spanning 13 games. Six of those have been draws whilst Nice have won seven, including the most recent one which came in November where they ran out 2-0 winners. Both teams have scored in five of the last six meetings with three games ending 1-1.

LILLE NEWS

Three points are vital for Lille as they maintain their position in 2^nd ahead of Lyon, St Etienne and Strasbourg. They are without Fares Bahlouli, Thiago Maia and Zeki Celik for the clash.

Latest matches: Lille OSC

25.01.2019	Ligu	Olympique Marseille	Lille OSC	1:2	W
22.01.2019	Coup	Sete 34 FC	Lille OSC	0:1	W
18.01.2019	Ligu	Lille OSC	SC Amiens	2:1	W
11.01.2019	Ligu	SM Caen	Lille OSC	1:3	W
07.01.2019	Coup	Lille OSC	FC Sochaux	1:0	W

NICE NEWS

The visitors must avoid defeat is they want to keep pressure on the sides above them. Mouez Hassan, Mickael Le Bihan, Gautier Lloris and Yoann Cardinale are injured and won’t feature.

Latest matches: OGC Nice

26.01.2019	Ligu	OGC Nice	Olympique Nimes	2:0	W
19.01.2019	Ligu	Stade Reims	OGC Nice	1:1	D
16.01.2019	Ligu	AS Monaco	OGC Nice	1:1	D
12.01.2019	Ligu	OGC Nice	FC Girondins Bordeaux	1:0	W
06.01.2019	Coup	Toulouse FC	OGC Nice	4:1	L

SUMMARY

Despite having a poor record against Nice, Lille are still big favourites to win this one with their run of form and superior league position. I would expect both teams to score which makes over 2.5 goals look an attractive bet. It’s hard to see past Lille with how good they’ve been.