Lille vs Marseille Prediction: BTTS and over 2.5 goals

The Ligue 1 season is nearing its conclusion, and Marseille will clinch a top-three spot if they defeat Lille on Saturday night at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy. The away side is now one point inside the top five and 13 points behind OM while the hosts run the risk of completely exiting the European rankings.

Marseille is presently in third place in Ligue 1 and has had a strong start to the year. Last week, the away team defeated Angers with ease so they will have to put in a lot of effort to repeat that performance this time around. Lille occupying the fifth position in the league table has struggled thus far this season. Lille will need to step it up this weekend after AS Monaco held them to a scoreless draw in their previous match.

This promises to be a good game with goals expected from both sides. 

Although Paulo Fonseca's team dominated the Monegasques and kept the hosts to only one shot on goal, Lille only managed to earn one point from their previous two games, including a loss to Reims and a goalless draw against Monaco.

However, when you consider the whole picture, Les Dogues have only lost twice in their last 11 league games, winning five and drawing four, with four of those triumphs coming in their previous eight games.

Incredibly, Lille has not suffered a loss at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy since all the way back in August, accumulating 12 victories, 4 ties, and 11 games with at least two goals scored. In addition to winning each of their previous three home league contests, LOSC has also triumphed in five of their previous six contests, routing Lyon while drawing with Strasbourg, Brest, Lorient, Montpellier, and Ajaccio. Only Lens has more home losses than Lille this year, therefore Fonseca's side is confident that they can pick up another victory and keep their hopes of qualifying for Europe alive this weekend.

Lille look set to be without Edon Zhegrova on Saturday after the Kosovan forward missed last weekend's draw with Monaco due to a muscle injury, so Timothy Weah will continue to lead the line, with Jonathan David operating behind the striker. Having netted 21 goals in 34 games this season, David finds himself third in the Ligue 1 scoring charts, while only Kylian Mbappe and Alexandre Lacazette have scored more.

Portuguese defender Tiago Djalo is also expected to miss Saturday's clash with a muscle injury, meaning that Alexsandro will join veteran centre-back Jose Fonte in LOSC's backline, with Ismaily and Bafode Diakite occupying the full-back roles.

The starting lineup for Lille might be Chevalier, Diakite, Fonte, Alexsandro, Ismaily, Andre, Gomes, Bamba, Cabella, David, and Weah.

Marseille has only dropped two of its 17 games away from home this season, giving them the second-best away record in Ligue 1. They also have the joint-best away defensive record with 13 goals allowed. Marseille went 11 games without a loss when on the road, with eight straight away league triumphs occurring between November and March, despite OM's previous away setback to Lens, a 2-1 loss.

More recently, Marseille has won four of their previous five games, including triumphs over Troyes, Lyon, and Auxerre in quick succession before this weekend's victory over Angers. As a result, Les Olympiens have only lost one of their past 10 contests.

Last time out, Alexis Sanchez scored and assisted, bringing his season total to 18 goals and three assists across all competitions. The seasoned striker has scored one Ligue 1 goal less than Lionel Messi this year.

Pedro Ruiz, Azzedine Ounahi, and Amine Harit, who last played in November before suffering a knee injury, will not be travelling with Marseille to Lille due to their injuries.

The midfield will be held together by Matteo Guendouzi and Jordan Veretout, while Dimitri Payet and Ruslan Malinovskyi will likely assist Alexis Sanchez in the attack. The three centre-backs Valentin Rongier, Leonardo Balerdi, and Sead Kolasinac appear to be lining up in a trio, which will give Cengiz Under and Jonathan Clauss greater flexibility to move around.

The starting lineup for Marseille might be Lopez, Rongier, Balerdi, Kolasinac, Under, Guendouzi, Veretout, Clauss, Malinovskyi, Payet, and Sanchez.

The last time Lille lost at home was all the way back in August, but Marseille have been a constant threat away from home this season, so Saturday's matchup is sure to be a tight contest.

Marseille is determined to secure its spot in the top four after stepping up this season. Dimitri Payet and Alexis Sanchez are enjoying their football and will try to make an impression.

Despite having a history of losing against the league's top clubs, Lille may be rather powerful on occasion. The advantage coming into this game belongs to Marseille, who are in excellent form right now. But the safe bet will be goals from both teams and over 2.5 goals.