Either Monaco or Lille could potentially reclaim first place in Ligue 1 temporarily with a matchday eight win as the two sides meet at Stade Louis II to kick off Sunday’s action in the French top flight.

The two teams are locked in a five-way tie for first heading into this weekend, with Les Monegasques dropping to fifth after a 1-0 loss at Lorient and Lille one place above them, drawing Brest 1-1.

Match preview

Having a lengthy break this fall for the international window may have come at an inopportune moment for Monaco.

Filipe Luis’s men were top of the table before the Ligue 1 season paused in September, going unbeaten in their first five league fixtures, dropping points in only one of those instances.

The Principality club have since fallen out of first place and will try to avoid equalling their longest winless run domestically this year (three matches) on Sunday.

While they are in a minor slump domestically right now, this team have a 100% record in the Conference League, netting a combined five goals in their two League Phase outings.

At the same time, they have yet to lose a competitive match at Stade Louis II this season, conceding one goal or fewer in four of those encounters, including a 3-0 win over last season’s Europa League runners-up Freiburg on Thursday.

Les Monegasques could lose consecutive matches in this competition on Sunday for the first time since May.

Another team in a minor slump would be Lille, who enter this weekend on a three-match winless run across all competitions.

Davide Ancelotti’s men have looked poor defensively in Europe, losing their three Champions League group fixtures, and conceding a combined 10 goals in the League Phase.

That is a sharp contrast to their consistently solid defensive showings in Ligue 1, where they have allowed the joint-fewest goals in the league heading into matchday eight (five), collecting two clean sheets in their three domestic affairs away from home.

Lille are one of three European sides that have yet to earn a point in the League Phase of this season's Champions League, and on Sunday they could go winless in consecutive Ligue 1 games for the first time since losing their first four league encounters of this year.

In 2026, Lille have not dropped a single point away from home in this competition when netting the opening goal, collecting six clean sheets over that stretch.

Les Dogues have had their way with Monaco of late, winning their last three meetings against them in Ligue 1, while suffering only one defeat to Les Monegasques in the Principality this decade (1-0 in 2024).

Monaco Ligue 1 form:

Monaco form (all competitions):

Lille Ligue 1 form:

Lille form (all competitions):

Team News

Monaco may be missing Eric Dier on Sunday as he recovers from muscle tightness, while Stanis Idumbo is questionable through injury.

Paris Brunner, who leads this team with four goals in Ligue 1, notched the winner in their Conference League triumph on Thursday, with Lamine Camara and Ansu Fati scoring late as Lukas Hradecky collected his first competitive clean sheet since late August.

On the Lille side, Tiago Santos is questionable due to a knock, Ayase Ueda has a foot injury, Ethan Mbappe Lottin is doubtful with ankle pain and Hamza Igamane is out because of a cruciate ligament tear.

Soriba Diaoune netted a brace in their 4-2 defeat versus Galatasaray in Champions League action this week, while Olivier Giroud rescued them a point by converting a second-half penalty against Brest last Saturday.

Monaco possible starting lineup:

Hradecky; Vanderson, Sane, Salisu, Nazinho; Camara, Zakaria; Minamino, Fati, Golovin; Brunner

Lille possible starting lineup:

Ozer; Srdanovic, Ngoy, Nianzou, Perraud; Perrin, Bentaleb, Andre; Harladsson, Giroud, Onal

We say: Monaco 1-1 Lille

For as potent as these two are, we rarely see a lot of goals when they meet while their games are often extremely tight.

Both teams are on short rest and may be happy to pocket a point given how demanding their schedules have been lately.

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