High-flying Lorient will go in search of a seventh consecutive victory in Ligue 1 when they welcome managerless Reims to the Stade du Moustoir on Saturday afternoon.
Les Merlus came from behind to beat Brest 2-1 last weekend, while the visitors managed to hold 10-man Paris Saint-Germain to a goalless draw.
Match preview
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Whatever Regis Le Bris has been feeding his Lorient players this season has been going down a treat, as Les Merlus continue to make waves near the top of the division, but they were forced to do it the hard way in their showdown with Breton rivals Brest on matchday 10.
Romain Del Castillo's back-post header nestled into the far corner to give Les Pirates the lead, but Terem Moffi was unsurprisingly the hero of the hour for Lorient, cancelling out Brest's lead - which lasted for just seven minutes - before lashing home his second of the contest in the second half.
With the eight-goal Nigerian in scintillating form throughout the early stages of the 2022-23 season, Lorient have taken advantage of Marseille's shock loss to Ajaccio to rise to second in the table, having accumulated a whopping 25 points from their opening 10 games.
Incredibly, only one point separates Lorient from Paris Saint-Germain at the top of the table, and with the champions not in action until Sunday's Classique with Marseille, Le Bris's surprise package could rise to the summit with a seventh top-flight win on the bounce here.
Shipping the most goals out of the top six sides - 14 to be exact - highlights where some of Lorient's shortcomings still lie, as they have conceded in each of their last five games, but they enter the weekend as one of two Ligue 1 teams with a perfect home record still intact, the other being Lens.
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Goalkeepers Yehvann Diouf and Gianluigi Donnarumma were the stars of the show when Reims welcomed PSG to the Stade Auguste-Delaune last Saturday evening, with neither side managing to find the breakthrough before or after Sergio Ramos was sent off for the 21st time in his club career.
Neymar was presented with a gilt-edged chance to win the contest for PSG, but he dragged his effort wide of Diouf's near post as Reims claimed a well-earned point against the champions, albeit one that now leaves them winless in five Ligue 1 games.
Only goal difference is keeping Reims 15th-placed side out of the four-team relegation zone at present, and having picked up just one win all season, the club announced on Thursday morning that Oscar Garcia had been suspended amid their early-season struggles.
That sole success did come on the road - a 4-2 triumph over fellow strugglers Angers at the end of August - but Les Rouges et Blancs have now failed to keep a clean sheet in seven straight Ligue 1 away games and must seek to rip up the form book if they are to spoil the Lorient party.
Lorient failed to win either of their Ligue 1 meetings with Reims in the 2021-22 season - losing 2-1 at home as recently as May 1 - but the two clubs have only been heading in opposite directions since that day.
Team News
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Lorient midfielder Laurent Abergel picked out Moffi to equalise in the win over Brest before leaving the field shortly after with a broken arm, and he is expected to remain sidelined until after the World Cup after undergoing surgery.
Saturday's game is also expected to come too soon for Adil Aouchiche (muscle) and Gedeon Kalulu (calf) to feature, but key attacker Dango Ouattara will come straight back into the first XI after returning from a one-game suspension.
Theo Le Bris - the manager's nephew - was a notable absentee from training on Wednesday, but Igor Silva is waiting in the wings if his teammate is not passed fit to start the contest. Abergel's place in midfield, meanwhile, should be taken by Bonke Innocent.
In contrast, the Reims absentee list is rather hefty by comparison, as Junya Ito still has one game left to serve of his two-match suspension, while Maxime Busi (thigh) and Jens Cajuste (ankle) are also out of contention.
Thomas Foket (hamstring), Rafik Guitane (knee), Kaj Sierhuis (ACL) and Florent Duparchy (jaw) are also among the casualties for the visitors, while William Still is set to take interim charge after Garcia's departure.
While it remains to be seen how Still will set his side up, he will surely see no need to alter the XI from the stalemate with the champions, as six-goal Arsenal loanee Folarin Balogun partners up with Arber Zeneli in the final third once more.
Lorient possible starting lineup:
Mvogo; Le Bris, Talbi, Laporte, Le Goff; Innocent, Le Fee; Diarra, Ponceau, Ouattara; Moffi
Reims possible starting lineup:
Diouf; Gravillon, Abdelhamid, Agbadou; Flips, Lopy, Munetsi, Matusiwa, Locko; Balogun, Zeneli
We say: Lorient 3-1 Reims
Losing key midfield enforcer Abergel has put a slight dampener on Lorient's mood, but welcoming Ouattara and his four goals and five assists back to the first XI spells even more success for the in-form Merlus.
Reims performed valiantly against PSG and can expect some joy in front of goal versus a Lorient backline that is far from impenetrable, but Le Bris's side have been almost unplayable at home and possess the required firepower to storm to a seventh consecutive win, and with it, a historic spell at the top of the table.
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Top tip
Ben Knapton
