Lille vs Strasbourg Preview & Prediction | 2024-25 French Ligue 1
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After a strong start to the season and the reign of manager Bruno Genesio, Lille are now in a period of poor form already as they welcome a Strasbourg side that play good football without the consistent results just yet.
KICK-OFF DATE/TIME: Saturday 21st September, 2024 - UK – 4:00pm / US ET – 11:00am / US PT – 8:00am
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – Not televised / US – beIN Sports
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – Ligue 1 pass / US – beIN Sports
LILLE PREVIEW: LOSING A HABIT FOR LILLE
Last season, Paulo Fonseca led Lille to UEFA Champions League qualification as well as the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa Conference League before departing the northerners for Italian giants AC Milan. Former Rennes and Lyon boss Bruno Genesio, nicknamed ‘Pep Genesio’ has took charge to continue the supposedly progressive style of football.
The home team come into this one on the back of a strong start to the season which involved back-to-back victories as well as UEFA Champions League playoff round victory over Slavia Prague but things have taken a turn for the worse as they come into this one on the back of four successive defeats across all competitions.
STRASBOURG PREVIEW: SILKY BUT STRANGE STRASBOURG
Former Hull City boss Liam Rosenior has been tasked with fulfilling the ambitious pretensions of Strasbourg’s controversial ownership group, BlueCo, following the dismissal of Patrick Vieira over the summer. Winning the fans over due to their discontent with BlueCo’s ownership is his key first test and playing good football is a good way of doing so.
The Englishman does have Strasbourg playing in a positive way but the visitors have struggled to ensure effectiveness and results so far this season. They come into this one on the back of a frustrating 1-1 draw at home to previously pointless Angers just a couple of weeks after losing to Lyon despite being 3-1 up in the second-half.
LILLE TEAM NEWS: PLENTY OF ISSUES FOR LILLE
Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Nabil Bentaleb suffered a cardiac arrest in the summer and his condition, whilst improving, is always something worth noting.
New England international Angel Gomes was sent off in defeat to Sporting CP in midweek but he should anchor a midfield that Bruno Genesio needs to get playing again.
PREDICTED XI (3-4-2-1): Chevalier; Santos, Alexsandro, Diakite; Meunier, Gomes, Andre, Gudmundsson; Cabella, Zhegrova; Bayo
UNAVAILABLE: Umtiti (Injured), Mukau (Injured), Ismaily (Injured), Bentaleb (Injured), Haraldsson (Injured), Mbappe (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE:
STRASBOURG TEAM NEWS: NOTHING FRESH TO WORRY ABOUT
Liam Rosenior has not yet bowed to the pressure of plenty of BlueCo players or Chelsea loanees or purchases as he sets out to but his own mark on Strasbourg.
He is still dealing with a few injuries that have existed since before the September international break such as Yoni Gomis, Thomas Delaine, Milos Lukovic and Moise Sahi.
PREDICTED XI (4-4-2): Petrovic; Doue, Sow, Sylla, Diogo Moreira; Bakwa, Santos, Doukoure, Nanasi; Diarra, Emegha
UNAVAILABLE: Gomis (Injured), Delaine (Injured), Lukovic (Injured), Sahi (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE:
LILLE VS STRASBOURG PREDICTION
In principle, both of these sides are going to try and play genuinely good football at Stade Pierre-Mauroy this weekend but the likelihood is that it becomes so much like a microcosm of modern football involving an inordinate amount of tedium. Lille themselves are in poor form, whilst Strasbourg have drifted into the Hull City way of possession for possession’s sake, as irritating as that phrase can often be, so a low-scoring encounter does seem likely.
LILLE VS STRASBOURG TIP: UNDER 3.5 GOALS
