Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Ligue 1 match.
AS Monaco have climbed to the top of the Ligue 1 standings, moving ahead of an out-of-form Paris Saint-Germain. The meeting with Lorient could help them retain first place for at least one more matchday.
Lorient
Lorient are second-bottom on four points, despite showing some attractive football at times. More often, though, their attacking approach has not paid off. They suffered a heavy 1:7 home defeat to LOSC Lille, and also lost 0:4 to Olympique de Marseille. Only against a comparable opponent, Le Havre, did they take a point last time out (1:1). Even then, Lorient were fortunate: a home player struck the post from the penalty spot in the fourth minute.
AS Monaco
After a 1:4 defeat to Club Brugge in the Champions League, AS Monaco needed an immediate response. Matchday five in Ligue 1 brought the leading relegation candidate, Metz. The opponents resisted for over an hour, even levelling at 2:2, but conceded late in the final ten minutes plus added time and were beaten 2:5. For AS Monaco, Ansu Fati registered a brace, scoring in a second successive match; he had netted their only goal in that game.
Lorient vs AS Monaco Prediction
AS Monaco, alongside Lille, are the joint-leading scorers at the start of the French season (13 goals), while Lorient, together with Metz, have conceded a league-high 13. A comfortable away win or simply a high-scoring contest would not surprise. We are backing over 2.5 goals and the visitors to prevail.
