5 Tips for Friday’s Action - 6/5/22

Tenth host fourth in Ligue 1 on Friday, with an in-form Monaco making the trip to Stade Pierre Mauroy to face Lille.

It’s been an awful title defence for Lille this season who, after surprising many by clinching the Ligue 1 crown last season ahead of PSG, will end the season a long way away from the top this season. Jocelyn Gourvennec’s side are tenth in France’s top tier, nine points off the top five with three games to go. Lille have lost three of their last four league games, with just one win in their last six.

Monaco are the in-form team at the moment in Ligue 1 and have given themselves a chance of sneaking into the top two. Philippe Clement’s men are fourth, three points away from second-placed Marseille. Monaco have won their last seven league games in a row – a run which has seen them pick up some big results along the way, with wins against fellow European hopefuls Rennes and Nice, as well as champions-elect PSG.

With the Serie A title race heating up, Inter will be chasing a win that would see them leapfrog their Milan rivals into first place.

Although it looks unlikely they’ll be caught, Empoli are still not out of the woods in terms of relegation from the Italian top tier, sitting in 14th place and 11 points clear of 17th Salernitana who have a game in hand.

It is very unlikely that Empoli will go down though, with plenty of teams below them. Empoli have won just once in their last 20 matches in all competitions, losing three of their last five.

Inter got back to winning ways away to Udinese on Sunday, following a disappointing defeat away to Bologna last Wednesday. It was their only defeat in their last 13 games in all competitions.

The Nerazzurri have won six of their last seven and will be looking to Lautaro Martinez to carry on his fine goalscoring form to fire them to the Scudetto. Martinez scored the second in the 2-1 win over Udinese, making five goals in his last five Inter games.

Friday’s second Serie A tip sees Juventus making the trip to a Genoa side that are in real danger near the bottom.

The hosts have lost four of their last five in Serie A and have won just the three games all season, leaving them in 19th place and three points from safety with three games remaining.

The Old Lady go into Friday’s clash on a three-game winning run and having not tasted defeat in their last five games in all competitions. Massimiliano Allegri’s side have already secured Champions League football for next season, sitting in fourth place with a ten-point cushion over fifth-placed Roma.

Dusan Vlahovic can add to his goals for the campaign and edge closer to Ciro Immobile in the Golden Boot race. The striker has 23 goals already this season, four behind the Lazio captain with three games to go.

The League One Play-offs get underway this week, with the second semi-final first leg kicking off on Friday night between Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday.

Sunderland go into the play-offs after a strong finish to their regular season campaign, going on a run of 13 games without defeat, finishing the season in fifth place. The Black Cats have plenty of attacking threat, with only Oxford United and eventual winners Wigan scoring more League One goals than them this season.

Striker Ross Stewart earned his place in the League One Team Of the Year, finishing in second place in the Golden Boot runnings with 24 goals.

Sheffield Wednesday have also seen plenty of high-scoring games in the league this season on their way to finishing fourth. There were 18 goals in Wednesday’s last five league games, so it could be another high-scoring affair between two good sides on Friday.

After clinching their first Super Lig crown in 38 years, Turkish champions Trabzonspor will be in party mode ahead of their trip to a struggling Hatayspor.

The hosts are in a midtable spot in tenth and have struggled in recent weeks, with three defeats in their last four league games – going six games without a win.

It’s been a historic season for Trabzonspor, who have won the league title with three games to spare. Abdullah Avcı’s side are nine points ahead of second-placed Fenerbahçe but have a better head-to-head record, securing their landmark title. Trabzonspor are unbeaten in their last six games in all competitions and can sign off a magnificent season in style, as their fans line the streets to celebrate their success.