Reduced and committed on all fronts, the Mastiffs travel to Abbé-Deschamps this Friday (9 p.m.) during the 17th day of the championship. The start of an insane schedule.
Lille supporters are unlikely to be bored during the month of January. Starting this Friday (9 p.m.), LOSC will play seven matches in just 24 days, the first of which is the trip to Auxerre on the 17th and final day of the first leg in Ligue 1. A tough sequence to risks for the Mastiffs of Bruno Genesio, (well) engaged in all competitions. In the championship, four meetings await them between now and February 2 (trips to Auxerre and Strasbourg, receptions in Nice and Saint-Étienne).
Add to that two “summits” in the Champions League, decisive for qualification and the still achievable objective of the Top 8, on the pitch of the ogre Liverpool at Anfield (January 21) and against Feyenoord Rotterdam at the Décathlon Arena (the 29th). Without forgetting another shock, as if that were not enough, planned for next week (Tuesday 14) in Marseille during the round of 16 of the Coupe de France, just one month after the very tight draw with OM (1 -1) in Ligue 1.
Orphelin de Zhegrova
In this period of galette des rois, beware of indigestion on the Lille side. Especially since the list of absentees remains significant with the long-term injured (Tiago Santos, Umtiti, Ethan Mbappé, Bentaleb) to which was added the Belgian Matias Fernandez-Pardo, victim of a ligament rupture in the left ankle at the start of the game against FC Nantes (1-1), last Saturday. The 19-year-old left winger should be missed “six weeks of competition, in the best case» according to Bruno Genesio, present at the pre-match press conference this Thursday. A real blow that came at the worst time.
-Fortunately, the offensive triggers are still numerous (David, Cabella, Haraldsson, Sahraoui, Angel Gomes, etc.) even if the twirling Kosovar Edon Zhegrova (8 goals and 2 assists this season), suffering from a groin and already forfeited against the Canaries , “is still limited to individual sessions» and will also be “out” in Auxerre, before “quickly reappear in the group.» Certainly weakened, can the northern machine, which was somewhat seized up last weekend, get back on track? “Tonight we weren’t good enough in all areas to hope for better. And in Ligue 1, that’s not enough to win a match.”regretted Genesio after sharing the points conceded in front of Nantes, who took advantage of the drop in speed of the 4th in the ranking after returning from the locker room.
A decisive month?
At Abbé-Deschamps, a Burgundian fortress which has not fallen since September 14 in the championship (against Monaco before a setback suffered against Dunkirk in the Cup on December 22), the Mastiffs will not have the right to make “a little less in the second period.» At the risk of losing ground again compared to Lyon (5th), Monaco (3rd) and Marseille (2nd), all traveling to the West (respectively to Brest, Nantes and Rennes) to close the first legs.
In the fight for the podium and undefeated for 18 matches in all competitions – the club’s historic record – LOSC has no time to think about it. “We’re going to have a lot of deadlines until the next break, Genesio reminded. Two with the championship and the Champions League, but there is also this Coupe de France match on Tuesday (January 14), with a direct sentence: either we continue or we stop. These will be difficult but exciting matches, and that’s what drives us.» At the beginning of February, at the end of his hellish marathon, he will know more about his national and European ambitions.
