Both teams are going through a difficult spell: in January Metz and Lille collected only one point between them, and this immediately affected their position in the standings. While the visitors are still trying to stay in the European qualification places, the hosts have dropped heavily to the bottom of the standings.
Metz
The arrival of Benoît Tavenot has not had an immediate impact. Under his guidance the team lost 2:5 to Olympique Lyonnais and 0:1 to Angers, once again exposing all of their defensive weaknesses. The side have conceded 46 goals in 20 rounds (the worst record in the league). At the same time they attack quite boldly: even against Paris Saint-Germain (2:3) and Olympique Lyonnais they managed to score twice. However, the hosts last won at the beginning of November. Since then they have gone eight matches without a win. The suspension of Jean-Philippe Gbamin and injuries to Joseph Mangondo and Pape Sy will also seriously limit the options in the squad.
Lille
Lille are going through a difficult phase of the season, with a run of four defeats in a row. However, all of these matches were against clubs from the top seven of the Ligue 1. There are nevertheless signs of stabilisation: the hard-fought 1:0 win over Freiburg restored some confidence. In attack the visitors can still surprise. They have scored 34 goals in 20 rounds (the third-best record), and the trio of Olivier Giroud, Hákon Arnar Haraldsson and Hamza Igamane have provided 14 of them.
Metz vs Lille Prediction
The first meeting of the season ended in a heavy defeat, with Lille winning 6:1. Overall, the visiting side have won seven of the last ten head-to-head matches and have not lost to Metz since 2018. After a demanding run of fixtures, they finally have a more favourable match and a good opportunity to get back to winning ways. The hosts, for all their attacking intent, are capable of scoring, but their weak defence is unlikely to withstand the visitors as fast and powerful attack.
