Ligue 1 preview: Lille streak ahead

Lille will hope to extend their unbeaten streak to nine when they travel to Nice in the highlight of this weekend’s Ligue 1 action.

The impressive run of form saw Lille top the table before the winter break, and with an extra game in hand on the chasing pack, a win would set up their second half of the season nicely.

Despite the fact title rivals PSG, Rennes and Lyon are just one point behind, Lille are quietly hopeful of winning their first major honour in more than 50 years.

Backed by fervent support in France’s fourth-largest city, Lille are hoping to win their first Ligue 1 crown since 1954, and striker Moussa Sow says the side will give it their all.

“We will try, believe me,” said Sow, who has scored 14 goals for his new club already this season.

“No one can say if we’ll succeed but we’ll give it our all for these fans and this footballing region. We’ll see where we are with five games to go.”

Manager Rudi Garcia admits leading the league before the winter break was a reward for a good start and said his side are thinking about winning the title.

“We aim to go on. We have no other option than to think about the title. You must have dreams; dreams bring progress. We have the right to dream but the crown is not ours, not yet,” Garcia said.

That title push begins on Saturday away at Nice, who are 15th and unbeaten in five matches.

Nice could be higher on the table if it were not for their struggles up forward, with the club having scored just 14 goals in 19 league matches this season, with top-scorers Emerse Fae and Danijel Ljuboja netting three each.

Nice have also been tough to score against, but Lille are the top scorers in the division and will fancy their chances of a morale-boosting victory to kick-start the new year.

PSG and Rennes – second and third in the league – both lost their last games before the winter break and will hope to bounce back with home fixtures against Sochaux and Arles respectively.

Lyon and Marseille ensure four of the top five are at home, facing Lorient and Bordeaux, while sixth-placed Saint-Etienne – unbeaten in seven – travel to second-from-bottom Lens.

Newly promoted Brest lit up Ligue 1 with a superb first half of the season, but the pressure will be on Alex Dupont’s side to keep up the pace when they host another promoted side, Caen.

In other matches, Toulouse and Nancy will do battle in a mid-table clash while Auxerre will hope to snap a run of four draws when they are at home to Monaco.