Montpellier Herault would be looking for a win against the reigning French champions in a bid to take them one step closer to their first-ever Ligue 1 title
Defying further
They’ve been written off all campaign long but Rene Girard’s men just keep on coming back. Currently, Montpellier Herault are on the top of the Ligue 1 standings and lead second-placed Paris Saint-Germain by three points.
Tonight, La Paillade face resurgent LOSC Lille at the Mosson in a game where victory for both sides would prove crucial to who actually lifts the Championelle on the final day of the season.
Should they topple Rudi Garcia’s side and Paris Saint-Germain fail to win against Stade Rennais, Montpellier will win their first Ligue 1 crown.
However, it certainly won’t be easy considering that Lille would be the ones playing against the league leaders. For the first time since the 2003/2004 campaign, there is a three-horse race for the title. Just five points divide the top three sides and with
just two games left, anything can be expected.
After a rather tempestuous 2-2 draw with Evian TG, many thought that Montpellier’s title assault had finally derailed. Throughout that week, everything negative was written about the club. However last week, Girard’s men came back stronger than ever as they
comprehensively defeated Stade Rennais 2-0 to maintain their lead at the Ligue 1 summit.
“Many people thought they were going to push us over the edge, but they’re going to have to wait a little longer. If we get a positive result against Lille, we’ll be certain of finishing second. It’s not a final thought because in a final there are two teams,
not three,” said Girard.
Stade de la Mosson has become a fortress in recent months but Lille are a proposition altogether different. On their travels, Les Dogues have been the most successful team in Ligue 1.
Lille lost their home game to Montpellier in week 2 so Rudi Garcia would be looking to extract revenge on the league leaders. In that game, Olivier Giroud, who is now the topscorer in Ligue 1, scored a late goal to give his side all three points.
However, Rudi Garcia feels that his side has all they need to win at the Mosson. Though the Frenchman is aware that his team have a chance of retaining the Championelle, the tactician is aware that things can change quickly at this stage of the campaign.
“It (win) might not be enough but whatever happens, we’ll try and take three points and anything can happen on the final day of the season. Now that we’re assured of finishing third, it’s normal that we’ve gotten a little greedier.”
Team history
Montpellier Herault have a good record at the Mosson against Lille. In 16 games, La Paillade have won nine games while Lille have won on just five occasions.
In the same fixture last season, Younes Belhanda scored a late goal to give his side a 1-0 win over the eventual Ligue 1 champions. Furthermore, Montpellier have lost just once in the last 7 Ligue 1 games against Les Dogues.
The last time Lille won at the Mosson was way back in 2003/2004 when http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Matt-Moussilou-c24775 scored twice for Les Dogues in a 2-0 win.
Predictions
Though Lille have fared extremely well away from home, beating Montpellier at the Mosson seems to be a tough ask. Furthermore, Rene Girard’s are aware that their destiny is in their hands so a win may be on the cards.
Predicted final score: Montpellier 2-1 Lille
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