The hosts are currently occupying the relegation playoff place after a difficult first half of the campaign, while Les Monegasques are fighting for European qualification.

Match preview

Monaco manager Niko Kovac pictured in September 2020 © Reuters

Christophe Pelissier's men came back from two goals down against Nice before the winter break to earn themselves a point.

Scoring goals has been a problem for Les Merlus this season, with their 17-goal haul the third lowest in the division.

Lorient have drawn a blank on eight occasions in their last 10 top-flight matches and will, therefore, be hoping to build on the brace they bagged in their most recent outing.

Coming up against a Monaco side who have struggled at the back throughout the campaign may be the perfect opponents to do just that as the Stade du Moustoir outfit aim to elevate themselves above the drop zone.

The principality club have experienced a drop off in form since they defeated the reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 in late November.

Just two wins, one draw and three losses have followed that impressive victory. The poor run of form has seen Niko Kovac's side fall to sixth in the table, four points behind Rennes in the final Champions League spot.

Monaco came from 2-1 down to take home a share of the spoils against Saint-Etienne last time out, despite being down to 10 men for the majority of the match.

Achieving qualification for Europe's elite cup competition would have been the aim for Kovac at the start of the season, and nothing less than three points against a relegation contender will do.

Lorient Ligue 1 form: LLWLLD

Monaco Ligue 1 form: WLLLWD

Team News

Monaco's Axel Disasi celebrates with teammates after scoring against Nice on November 8, 2020 © Reuters

Lorient's Andreaw Gravillon has served his two-game ban and will now be available for selection once again.

The two-week break came at a good time for Pelissier as it has allowed Thomas Fontaine, Houboulang Mendes and Matthieu Saunier to return to fitness, strengthening his side's options.

Monaco's regular number one goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte may be in line to return to the starting lineup following a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to a broken hand.

Former Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas is not ready to return from a calf injury, meaning Benfica loanee Florentino Luis is set to start in the middle of the pitch due to Eliot Matazo's suspension.

Lorient possible starting lineup:
Nardi; Le Goff, Morel, Laporte, Hergault; Lemoine; Boisgard, Abergel, Monconduit, Lauriente; Moffi

Monaco possible starting lineup:
Lecomte; Aguilar, Disasi, Maripan; Henrique; Diop, Tchouameni, Luis, Martins; Volland, Ben Yedder

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We say: Lorient 0-2 Monaco

Although Monaco have been struggling somewhat of late, Lorient's troubles in front of goal and their lack of quality across the pitch should mean Kovac's side pick up the three points here. They cannot afford to lose any more ground on the top four, and a narrow victory is the most likely outcome in midweek.

Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 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.

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 Monaco win with a probability of 50.08%. A draw had a probability of 25.3% and a win for Lorient had a probability of 24.62%.

The most likely scoreline for a Monaco win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.8%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.42%) and 0-2 (9.25%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.02%), while for a Lorient win it was 1-0 (7.67%). The actual scoreline of 2-5 was predicted with a 0.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Monaco would win this match.