Lille vs Lorient Prediction: A tough match but the home team will prevail

On Sunday, April 2nd, Lille will face Lorient in Ligue 1 at the Stade Pierre Mauroy. Both sides are vying to qualify for European football next season, but Lille has the upper hand to achieve this.

The home side is only one point behind fifth-placed Rennes and could leapfrog them with a victory. Lorient, however, is a few spots lower in eighth place, five points behind Lille. Although the two sides are close when looking at the league standings, a look at the form guide indicates that Lille should prevail at home. Les Dougues is recently in excellent form scoring goals for fun. The home side has also been reasonably steady at the back although in some instances they appear to be susceptible to allowing too many goals.

Lorient on the other hand is capable of delivering an impressive display, but their form has been extremely patchy lately. So it's tough to see them containing Lille's dangerous assault for long.

Lille put themselves up for a good finish to the season by going four games undefeated before the international break, collecting eight points from a potential twelve to secure sixth place in the standings. After beating Brest, Les Dogues drew with Lens and Lyon before topping Toulouse 2-0.

Les Dougues have now won four of their last seven league games, netting at least two goals in each of those wins. Even better, Lille has only dropped two of their previous 15 Ligue 1 games, winning seven and drawing six, while also avoiding defeat in each of their last 11 league home encounters.

Having last lost at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in August, the host side will be optimistic about improving on their fourth-best home record this weekend.

Lorient began the season with a run of eight victories in the first ten games. It, therefore, appeared that the away side would have a spectacular season, but a lot has altered since then. Indeed, Lorient has won just four of their last 18 league games, drawing seven and losing seven. The stats stated highlight their volatility in recent months.

As far as this match is concerned, it's worth recalling that Lorient defeated Lille 2-1 in October. That win enabled the Brittany outfit to record their fifth consecutive triumph. It is after this win that Laorient has battled to find their rhythm.

Prior to the international break, Lorient was on a three-match unbeaten streak, having secured five points from a potential nine. Lorient has also failed to win any of their last five away games, with losses at Marseille, Reims, and Nantes preceding ties at Lyon and Nice, and they may struggle to reverse the tide against a Lille side with an excellent home record.

Based on the statistics for each team, current form, and head-to-head, a couple of bets are worth considering. The best option is to expect under 4.5 goals and a win for the home side. This is based on the goal and form table. Also, BTTS is to be expected in this match that promises to produce over 2.5 goals. Likely scorelines are 2-1 or 3-1 in favour of Lille. Below are the expert's bets to consider. 

• W1 and Under 4.5 for 1.80 odds (1xbet);
• Over 2.5 for 1.54 odds (Coinplay);
• BTTS for 1.8 odds (bet365).