Dijon play host to Reims on Sunday afternoon sitting 13 points adrift of safety, realistically leaving the home side requiring all three points if they are to remain with a chance of avoiding relegation from Ligue 1.
Meanwhile, a five-match unbeaten streak has helped Reims move eight points clear of the bottom three with nine games left of the season.
Match preview
© Reuters
On the back of 10 successive defeats in all competitions, few people are expecting Dijon to pull off the great escape as they look to survive in Ligue 1.
While three teams have a worse defensive record than the Owls, their lack of a goal threat has cost them any realistic chance of avoiding the drop into the second tier.
Although David Linares will stress that his side will continue to battle for points until the end of the campaign, there will be an acceptance that regaining some respectability should still be deemed to be a success.
Dijon head into this contest still looking for their first home win of the season with just six draws coming from 15 encounters.
On the flip side, Reims make the trip to Stade Gaston Gerard having prevailed in three of their most recent six fixtures on their travels.
The latest of those triumphs came at Nantes on March 3, a result which was followed by a 1-1 draw against Lyon last Friday, their opponents finding an equaliser in the final minute.
David Guion was left frustrated with dropping two points during the closing stages of that contest, but it was another point towards staying clear of trouble.
Despite going five matches without defeat in Ligue 1, top goalscorer Boulaye Dia has not provided a goal or assist during that period.
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Team News
Bersant Celina and Moussa Konate should start for Dijon after making an impact as substitutes versus Marseille.
Linares may also make further changes as he attempts to find a successful formula for the remainder of the season.
Barring any fitness issues, Guion is unlikely to make any alterations to his Reims XI.
El Bilal Toure, Arber Zeneli and Fode Doucoure are all expected to remain among the replacements.
Dijon possible starting lineup:
Racioppi; Boey, Manga, Coulibaly, Muzinga; Ndong, Lautoa; Balde, Celina, Ebimbe; Konate
Reims possible starting lineup:
Rajkovic; Foket, Faes, Abdelhamid, Konan; Munesti, Chavalerin; Mbuku, Berisha, Cafaro; Dia
We say: Dijon 0-2 Reims
Almost at the point of no return, Dijon will go on the offensive on Sunday afternoon. However, that will only play into the favour of their opponents, who we feel will make relatively light work of their struggling hosts.
Top tip
Darren Plant
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 Reims win with a probability of 50.72%. A draw had a probability of 27.3% and a win for Dijon had a probability of 21.94%.
The most likely scoreline for a Reims win was 0-1 with a probability of 15.16%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (10.65%) and 1-2 (8.75%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.45%), while for a Dijon win it was 1-0 (8.87%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 15.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 0-1 win for Reims in this match.
