Ligue 1 Predictions | Round 2: crisis club OM face Paris FC, Lille host Monaco | OneFootball

Ligue 1 Predictions, Round 2

GFFN editor-in-chief  Luke Entwistle, and sub-editors Raphaël Jucobin and Bastien Cheval face off in our Ligue 1 predictions competition. This week, we are also joined by special guest, The Athletic’s Alex Barker. It’s three points for a correct score, two points for a correct score difference, and one point for a correct result. Who will come out on top at the end of the season?

SCORES

Raphaël: 8

Luke: 6

Bastien: 10

Game of the week: Lille OSC v AS Monaco, Sunday 19:45 (UK)

Lille, judging by their 3-3 draw against Brest, will be fun to watch this season. That doesn’t mean that they will necessarily win many of their games. As expected, it is a side that is a work-in-progress. So many big players have gone. Jonathan David, Angel Gomes, Bafodé Diakité, Lucas Chevalier, Rémy Cabella, etc. the list goes on. The effect is being felt, particularly in defence. They were torn apart at times for a Brest side, who I feared for in an attacking sense this season. That really doesn’t bode well and makes you worry how much the departures of Diakité and Chevalier, in particular, will affect this side. The major positive here was Olivier Giroud’s debut. He looked excellent in the first half and got a goal on his debut. He still has the finishing touch, but his lack of fitness, normal given his age, will be a concern. Can he be a long-term starter, or is he better used as an option off the bench? The problem, for now, is that there is no one else in the squad to share the load, and that won’t change before this weekend.

Naturally, that will have Monaco licking their lips. They weren’t spectacular against Le Havre, but beat them 3-1. The biggest win of the weekend, they sit top of Ligue 1. At this stage of the season, that, of course, means nothing. Adi Hutter was, however, very unhappy with the performance. He thought his side were too sloppy in possession, too slow, too, and called on his players to up their game, stating that such a performance would not be rewarded with three points if it were to be repeated against Lille. However, defensively, Monaco were strong, and Eric Dier’s partnership with Christian Mawissa could prove to be one of the best defensive partnerships in the league. That is a solid base to work from and, going forward, they should be able to count on Folarin Balogun returning too this weekend. The atmosphere has, however, been slightly disturbed by news that Denis Zakaria could leave in a big-money move to Saudi Arabia. Ultimately, that deal looks to have fallen through, but such a story, which caused uproar among the fanbase, has the ability to unsettle things going into the weekend.

Alex’s full predictions

Raphaël’s full predictions

Luke’s full predictions

Bastien’s full predictions

GFFN | Luke Entwistle