Lorient will travel over 600 miles east to the Stade de la Meinau on Sunday afternoon for their Ligue 1 encounter against Strasbourg.
The hosts have won only one of their last four top-flight matches, while the visitors have failed to win any games in this same period – their longest run without a victory since a streak of five matches between December 2020 and January 2021.
Match preview
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Strasbourg were unable to build on their 5-1 thrashing of basement club Saint-Etienne, as they were narrowly beaten 1-0 away against Rennes last weekend.
The game was goalless at half time thanks to a brilliant performance between the sticks by goalkeeper Matz Sels, however the deadlock was eventually broken in the 82nd minute when Nayef Aguerd headed home from Lovro Majer's corner, condemning the visitors to their fifth league defeat of the campaign.
That result has seen Julien Stephan's side slip out of the top half of the table and down to 12th, one place and one point behind Sunday's opponents Lorient.
Strasbourg are unbeaten in their last three Ligue 1 home matches against Les Merlus, conceding only once in the process when they played out a 1-1 draw in May last season.
The Racers, who have won three of their last four home games in the top flight, could climb as high as sixth in the table if they were to claim all three points this weekend.
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Lorient's winless league run was extended to four matches when they played out a 1-1 draw at home against struggling Bordeaux last weekend.
After a goalless first half, the visitors took the lead just seconds after the restart through Alberth Elis, before Julien Laporte equalised in the 76th minute with a towering header inside the six-yard box.
Les Merlus have now drawn three of their last four Ligue 1 matches and six times in total so far this season; only Bordeaux and Brest have drawn as many games at this stage.
Christophe Pelissier's side remain just inside the top half of the table with 15 points from 11 matches, and are now four points behind the top four.
Lorient head into Sunday's encounter having failed to win in their last 21 Ligue 1 away games, the club's worst such run and the longest current streak of any side in the competition.
Les Merlus are, however, unbeaten in their last four encounters with Strasbourg – including a 3-1 home victory and 1-1 draw on the road last season – so Pelissier will be confident that his side can finally end their winless away record this weekend.
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Team News
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Strasbourg defender Maxime Le Marchand will serve a one-match suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards, so Lucas Perrin is set to start alongside Gerzino Nyamsi and Alexander Djiku in the back three as a result.
The hosts will also be without Karol Fila (groin), Moise Sahi Dion (thigh) and Lebo Mothiba (knee) due to injury.
Experienced striker Kevin Gameiro is doubtful with a hamstring problem, so Habib Diallo is set to join Ludovic Ajorque up front; the pair have netted four league goals each so far this campaign.
As for Lorient, defender Jeremy Morel and midfielder Armand Lauriente remain on the sidelines with respective thigh and back injuries.
Pelissier will continue with his 5-3-2 formation, which could see centre-back Moritz Jenz remain alongside Laporte and Houboulang Mendes in the back five.
Striker Terem Moffi, who has failed to score in each of his last five games, is expected to keep his place in attack, while midfielder Enzo Le Fee will be hoping to force his way back into the first XI ahead of either Quentin Boisgard or Fabien Lemoine.
Strasbourg possible starting lineup:
Sels; Perrin, Djiku, Nyamsi; Guilbert, Sissoko, Lienard, Bellegarde, Caci; Diallo, Ajorque
Lorient possible starting lineup:
Nardi; Hergault, Jenz, Laporte, Mendes, Le Goff; Le Fee, Lemoine, Abergel; Moffi, Diarra
We say: Strasbourg 1-1 Lorient
Understandably, Strasbourg and Lorient are sitting in midtable after inconsistent starts to the 2021-22 campaign, though both sides will be keen to put a solid run of form together in the coming weeks to ensure they challenge for a place in the top half of the table.
However, as there is little to separate these two teams, a closely-fought contest is set to be played out at the Stade de la Meinau, with a score draw potentially on the cards.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
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 Strasbourg win with a probability of 55.64%. A draw had a probability of 24.1% and a win for Lorient had a probability of 20.22%.
The most likely scoreline for a Strasbourg win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.6%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.6%) and 2-1 (9.64%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.45%), while for a Lorient win it was 0-1 (6.8%). The actual scoreline of 4-0 was predicted with a 2.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Strasbourg would win this match.
