LOSC could take another step towards a first Ligue 1 Uber Eats title since 2011 with victory over OGC Nice on Saturday, and coach Christophe Galtier has called on his players to be like "dogs with a bone" to defend their league-leading position.
LOSC - OGC Nice
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Lille welcome Nice to the Stade Pierre-Mauroy with a one-point cushion on second-placed Paris Saint-Germain - the defending champions - following last Sunday's 3-2 victory over Olympique Lyonnais, which was itself a potential title six-pointer.
Les Dogues even trailed their hosts by two goals heading into the interval, but Burak Yilmaz provided the sweetest of Turkish delights, scoring twice either side of assisting Jonathan David to secure a victory for the visitors five minutes from time.
On the cusp of history?
Lille were last French champions in 2011, when Eden Hazard helped fire them to their first top-flight success in 57 years. With only four games to go of the current campaign, Saturday's hosts need not have to wait so long for their next triumph, and with 12 points left to play for, their fate is in their own hands.
Watch: Highlights of Lille's 3-2 win over Lyon
"We're ahead," said coach Christophe Galtier before the game. "My players have something special in their hands and we must everything we can to stop our opponents from taking it away from us, like a dog when it has a bone in its mouth. And this applies very well to les Dogues. They have it and nobody can take it away from them. They have to keep this in mind."
French sports daily l'Equipe this week reported that Nice would like to hire Galtier at the end of the season, but the chance of LOSC letting their coach slip from their grasp would appear to be slim, especially if a Ligue 1 Uber Eats title and UEFA Champions League football are on the horizon.
Bite as bad as their bark
Galtier has a near full-strength squad to call upon. American attacker Timothy Weah remains out with a thigh injury picked up in the recent 1-1 draw with Montpellier Hérault SC, but the rest of his selection choices will be a matter of preference. David and Yilmaz will be paired in attack, but Galtier must decide which three go into two in the wide midfield positions out of Renato Sanches, Jonathan Ikoné and Jonathan Bamba.
Watch: Highlights of the 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture
Nice were hoping to be significantly closer to the European conversation this season. They parted ways with coach Patrick Vieira midway through the campaign, and there hasn't been a huge uptick in results in the Côte d'Azur under his successor, Adrian Ursea.
Not out of it
Les Aiglons are in ninth on 46 points, 10 behind of RC Lens, who occupy the sixth and final European place - which brings with it qualification for the play-off round of next season's inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League.
Nice beat Montpellier 3-1 last Sunday, having dropped five points in their preceding two game. The have also won three of their last five, though, and could put together a late charge. They need to at least a repeat of the 1-1 draw in September's reverse fixture, though. Ursea is quietly confident.
Watch: Highlights of Nice's 3-1 win over Montpellier
"When Lille played PSG [a 1-0 win in Round 31], you could see a team really successful in transitions," he explained. "But at home, against teams who are supposedly weaker, they need to lead the game, to take the initiative, which can create spaces. We won't curl up in a ball. It's not in our DNA. Despite our difficult period we've managed to find a way through."
Lengthy injury list
Unlike Galtier, Ursea has a raft of injury absentees to contend with. Amine Gouiri and Khéphren Thuram have calf injuries while Myziane Maolida has a groin problem. They join long-term casualties Dante and Jeff Reine-Adélaïde - both of whom have torn knee ligaments - in the treatment room.
Youcef Atal didn't train on Thursday but was only rested as a precaution. He is the most likely to join Rony Lopes and Kasper Dolberg - who scored Nice's goal in the reverse fixture - in the final third, in light of Gouiri's absence.
Possible teams
Lille: Maignan; Celik, Fonte, Botman, Reinildo; Ikoné, André, Soumaré, Sanches; Yilmaz, David
Nice: Benitez; Lotomba, Todibo, Saliba, Kamara; Schneiderlin, Claude-Maurice, Boudaoui; Atal, Dolberg, Lopes
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