Friday night goals in Ligue 1

Lille off the mark

Lorient host last season’s Ligue 1 champions Lille on Friday for the fifth round of fixtures. Lille claimed their first win last time out at home against ten-man Montpellier, but it had been a long time coming for Jocelyn Gourvennec’s side who sit firmly mid table in Ligue 1 after claiming just five points in four games. Lorient on the other hand played out an entertaining 2-2 draw with Lens, a point that will please a Lorient side that just about maintained their Ligue 1 status last season against Lens who pushed for an unlikely European spot last campaign.

Playing catchup

Both Lille and Lens sit on five points from four games, both with a win and two draws. This is the perfect chance for both sides to kickstart a run of form that can propel them further up the table in these early stages and keep up with the sides above them in the league, all of whom are unbeaten from the first four games. PSG and surprise package Angers are the early pacesetters, sat on 12 and ten points respectively, with Angers only slipping behind due to a draw away in Bordeaux on matchday three of this season. Lille will be looking to start showing the clinical form that lead them to a special Ligue 1 title winning season last campaign, as it’s form they’re yet to show so far to keep pace with the early leaders. They’ll be without frontman Jonathan David who finishes up with his national duties with Canada on Thursday, meaning he definitely won’t be available for the squad the day after. The goalscoring duties will be left to the likes of Yilmaz, Yazici, Ikone and Bamba for the visitors in hopes of claiming their second victory of this season.

International duty to wreak havoc

Lille struggling defensively will give the hosts some confidence coming into Friday’s game. Lorient have scored against Lille in three of their last four meetings, despite losing a combined 8-1 to Lille when the visitors did the double over them last season. Lille need to get back to winning games regularly, and their 16-game unbeaten away run has been maintained and should breed some confidence in the Lille ranks with a tricky away day set for Friday. Both sides will be shorthanded due to international duties, with this being the opening game of the gameweek in Ligue 1, so I expect quite an open affair come Friday.

Neither team have exactly been defensively solid so far, and with Lille having a point to prove on Friday, I can see them gunning for the win potentially leaving them open to a Lorient counterattack. That’s why I’m going with both teams to score with bet365.

Bet Both Teams to Score on Bet365