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Ligue 1 | Gameweek 12
Nov 29, 2020 at 2pm UK
Stade du Moustoir
Montpellier
Lorient
0 - 1
Montpellier

Laporte (49'), Le Fee (52')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Skuletic (79')
Savanier (90')

Preview: Lorient vs. Montpellier HSC - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Ligue 1 clash between Lorient and Montpellier HSC, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Montpellier HSC make the trip to Lorient on Sunday afternoon looking to record their fourth successive victory in Ligue 1.

As for the home side, they head into the contest at Stade du Moistoir sitting in the bottom three, having recorded just one point from their last four fixtures.


Match preview

Montpellier manager Michel Der Zakarian pictured in February 2020© Reuters

While the top four in Ligue 1 is pretty much as many people would have predicted, Montpellier are suggesting that they have the potential to upset the apple cart.

Although their three wins in succession have been against teams sitting in the bottom half of the table, their recent haul has taken them to within four points of top spot.

Montpellier are no strangers to competing for the European places, but the likes of Andy Delort and Gaetan Laborde are giving their fans reasons to be optimistic about the future.

Victory on Sunday would keep them in close proximity with the frontrunners ahead of playing host to Paris Saint-Germain next weekend, a time when the leaders will be distracted by Champions League matters.

Michel Der Zakarian may have a job on his hands to ensure that complacency does not creep in ahead of the weekend, with Lorient struggling at the opposite end of the table.

The home side have scored just three goals from their last half-a-dozen outings, all of which came during a 19-minute period in the second half of their win over Reims on October 17.

Les Merlus have now gone 370 minutes without finding the back of the net, and last year's Ligue 1 champions need to find a solution as soon as possible.

Victory at the weekend could take the club up to 15th spot, highlighting the small margins at the lower end of the standings, but they will need to improve on a number of levels if they are to get anything from this game.

Lorient Ligue 1 form: LWLDLL

Montpellier HSC Ligue 1 form: LDLWWW


Team News

Lorient manager Christophe Pelissier pictured in October 2020© Reuters

The 4-0 reverse at Lille will almost certainly lead to Christophe Pelissier making changes to his Lorient XI.

Sylvain Marveaux is expected to be among the players to drop down to the substitutes' bench, which would allow Pierre-Yves Hamel to return in attack.

As far as Montpellier are concerned, Der Zakarian could name the same team which started the seven-goal thriller with Strasbourg.

Yun Il-Lok could be granted his first Ligue 1 start of the season if Stephy Mavididi is only named among the replacements.

Lorient possible starting lineup:
Nardi; Mendes, Laporte, Gravillon, Morel; Lauriente, Chalobah, Abergel, Wissa; Moffi, Hamel

Montpellier HSC possible starting lineup:
Omlin; Sambia, Mendes, Congre, Ristic; Savanier, Ferri, Mollet; Laborde, Delort, Mavididi


SM words green background

We say: Lorient 1-3 Montpellier HSC

Given their recent dismal run, it is difficult to make a case for Lorient getting anything from this game. While they may improve in some areas, Montpellier's extra quality should shine through when it matters most.


Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data


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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Lorient win with a probability of 37.53%. A win for Montpellier HSC had a probability of 34.06% and a draw had a probability of 28.4%.

The most likely scoreline for a Lorient win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.93%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (7.83%) and 2-0 (7.05%). The likeliest Montpellier HSC win was 0-1 (11.22%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.26%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with an 11.2% likelihood.


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Lille head coach Christophe Galtier pictured on November 5, 2020
Read Next:
Sunday's Ligue 1 predictions including Lille vs. Lorient
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Paris Saint-GermainPSG26178162233959
2Brest26138536201647
3MonacoMonaco26137647361146
4Lille261110537231443
5Nice2612772720743
6Lens2612683527842
7Marseille26109740281239
8Rennes2610974031939
9Reims26115103435-138
10Lyon26104123040-1034
11Toulouse2678112936-729
12StrasbourgStrasbourg2678112839-1129
13Le HavreLe Havre2669112633-727
14Montpellier HSCMontpellier2669113140-926
15Lorient2668123549-1426
16NantesNantes2674152441-1725
17Metz2665152339-1623
18Clermont2648141943-2420

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