Lille begin their French Ligue 1 title defence with a trip to the Stade Saint-Symphorien to face Metz. The defending champions have already shown their intentions for the new season with victory in the Trophee des Champions and are expected to ease past Metz.
Metz head into their season opener off the back of a 1-0 victory over Montpellier in their final warm-up fixture. It was the third straight win for Sunday’s hosts, who looked solid in preseason.
Metz finished 10th last term after claiming just one win in their final 11 Ligue 1 matches of the season. Frédéric Antonetti’s men will be targeting an improvement this season and will be keen to make a positive start.
The problem for Metz is their home form as they have suffered six defeats and two draws from their last eight Ligue 1 fixtures at the Stade Saint-Symphorien. They also struggle to find the net on their own turf with a 3-0 defeat against Nimes highlighting their problems at home.
Lille appear to have laid down a marker for the new season as they claimed a 1-0 victory against PSG to win the Trophee des Champions. A first half effort from Xeka proved to be the difference as they held on for the win.
Lille won the Ligue 1 title last season, building their campaign on a solid defence. Although Jocelyn Gourvennec is the new man in charge, they appear set to follow a similar path this season after keeping PSG's superior attack at bay in the Trophee des Champions.
Four wins in their last five Ligue 1 matches means Lille head to Metz with plenty of confidence. They also have a good record on the road with 12 wins in their last 13 away mates in Ligue 1.
How the bookies view it
Lille have been installed as overwhelming favourites by the bookies and are priced at 19/25 by novibet to win. Metz are considered outsiders at home at 23/5 with Unibet while a draw is set at odds of 13/5 with William Hill.
Lille will take plenty of confidence from their victory over PSG and should ease to a comfortable victory here.
Head to head
Lille have a 16-4 advantage with eight draws from 28 previous matches against Metz. They did the double over Metz last season with the fixture at the Stade Saint-Symphorien ending 2-0 thanks to goals from Burak Yilmaz and Zeki Celik.
Players to watch
Despite having a new manager Lille appear to have lost none of their defensive discipline. Jose Fonte and Sven Botman started in central defence as they shut out the PSG attack and they will be confident of another clean sheet at 53/50 with Sporting Index.
Burak Yilmaz was the top scorer for Lille last season with 16 goals and was on target in the game at Metz last season. The striker could be worth keeping an eye on in the anytime goalscorer market at 3/2 with Skybet.
Anything else catch the eye?
Lille have won to nil in their last two matches against Metz and are priced at 43/12 by Sporting Index for a repeat on Sunday. The champions could also be considered in the -1 handicap market at 12/5 with BetVictor.
Given their solid defence, Lille could be backed as the only team to score at 6/4 with bet365. Having led at the break in three of their last four Ligue 1 matches, they could also be tipped to earn a halftime win at 6/4 with William Hill.
This French Ligue 1 match between Metz and Lille will be played on Aug 8, 2021 and kick off at 16:00. Check below for our tipsters best Metz vs Lille prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.