Champions Olympique Marseille, Stade Rennes and Lille themselves have all relinquished the lead this season but coach Rudi Garcia's team sent a clear message to their title rivals when they crushed Lorient 6-3 last weekend.
Several pundits now feel Lille should be considered favourites to finish top.
"(Lille) are the perfect team. If they avoid injuries I don't see who can stop them," former France striker turned television pundit Olivier Rouyer told newspaper L'Equipe.
"Lille are the favourites. They are not Barcelona but the team is impressive," said Estevan.
"They score a lot and are able to do it against any team. They also make defensive mistakes but I don't think it will happen at every game."
Ligue 1's leading scorer notched his second hat-trick of the season last weekend to take his tally to 13 goals.
"We want to finish in the top five or qualify for Europe next year," said Sow.
