Metz and Lorient will both be looking to register just their second win of the season when the two struggling sides meet at the Stade Saint-Symphorien for Sunday's Ligue 1 clash.
Metz managed to take a point off Marseille in a 1-1 stalemate in gameweek five, whereas Lorient drew by the same scoreline against Lyon last time out.
Match preview
Metz were only seconds away from recording a memorable victory against Marseille and winning their second game on the bounce in the French top flight, but Vincent Hognon's men were left heartbroken as their anticipated three points turned into one deep into injury time.
Indeed, Ibrahima Niane's third goal of the season looked to have won the game for Metz, but Morgan Sanson popped up with an equaliser in the dying embers of the game to salvage a draw for the visitors.
Despite seeing their lead evaporate in that encounter last Sunday, there is no doubt that Hognon's men have vastly improved since losing their first three games by a 1-0 scoreline in the 2020-21 season.
Les Grenats picked up their first victory of the season against an out-of-sorts Reims in gameweek four, and Metz will feel confident of stretching their unbeaten run to three games against a Lorient side with whom they are level on points and goal difference at this early stage of the season.
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Lorient's return to the big time began in perfect fashion with a comfortable 3-1 win over Strasbourg, but the newly-promoted outfit have since struggled to compete at the top level following three losses from their last four games.
Christophe Pelissier has witnessed his team fall to defeat against Saint-Etienne, Lens and Brest in the first few weeks of the season, although Lorient did manage to arrest their slump as they held an underwhelming Lyon to a draw last Sunday.
The Merlus faithful may have started dreaming of a famous win against Les Gones after Yoane Wissa opened the scoring in the second half, but Lyon were behind for just 11 minutes as Leo Dubois ensured that both teams walked away with a share of the spoils.
Nevertheless, Lorient are historically strong in their meetings with Metz - Les Merlus have won seven of the last 11 meetings between the two sides, although Brest came out on top 2-1 in this fixture when the sides last faced off in the 2018-19 Ligue 2 season.
Metz Ligue 1 form: LLLWD
Lorient Ligue 1 form: WLLLD
Team News
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Metz will have to make do without Farid Boulaya, who is suspended for this encounter following an accumulation of three yellow cards within the space of 10 matches.
Habib Diallo could therefore come in to spearhead the Metz attack, which would see Niane shifted out wide.
Manuel Cabit and Kevin N'Doram remain sidelined for the hosts, but Vincent Pajot returns from a suspension of his own and should replace Mamadou Fofana in the middle of the park.
As for Lorient, the visitors had a couple of injury scares against Lyon as Adrian Grbic and Enzo Le Fee were both forced off, but both men have been passed fit for Sunday.
Trevoh Chalobah - on loan from Chelsea - has missed out Lorient's last two games with a knee problem and is not expected to return for another couple of weeks.
There are still doubts over the availability of Quentin Boisgard, while it is too soon for new recruit Terem Moffi to be involved after arriving from Belgian side KV Kortrijk.
Metz possible starting lineup:
Oukidja; Centonze, Bronn, Boye, Udol; Maiga, Pajot, Angban; Niane, Diallo, Nguette
Lorient possible starting lineup:
Nardi; Mendes, Morel, Laporte, Goff; Abergel, Lemoine; Diarra, Le Fee, Wissa; Grbic
We say: Metz 2-2 Lorient
Both sides will be disheartened yet encouraged by their one-pointers against the Olympico rivals in gameweek five, and Metz may feel more confident of coming out on top given their improved performances over the past couple of weeks. Lorient have already shipped 10 goals this season, but they know how to find the net at the correct end of the pitch and we are expecting the points to be shared in a four-goal thriller on Sunday.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a home win or an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home/Away:data
Ben Knapton
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 Lorient win with a probability of 38.37%. A win for Metz had a probability of 32.89% and a draw had a probability of 28.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Lorient win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.48%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (7.83%) and 0-2 (7.34%). The likeliest Metz win was 1-0 (11.32%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.31%). The actual scoreline of 3-1 was predicted with a 2.5% likelihood.
