Nantes entertain Angers in Ligue 1 on Sunday with the hosts desperately searching for a win, having failed to do so in any of their last six matches.
Angers, meanwhile, are looking to remain in the top half of the table at the end of the calendar year, with the trip to Nantes one of two matches closing out 2020.
Match preview
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Indeed, it has been a tricky period of form for Nantes, with Christian Gourcuff sacked after the side's embarrassing 4-0 home defeat to fellow strugglers Strasbourg.
With Patrick Collot taking over as caretaker boss against bottom-placed Dijon, there was hope that Nantes could end their winless run. However, the hosts were frustrated by a 1-1 draw, before losing 3-2 at Reims on Wednesday.
Nicolas Pallois had given the visitors the lead, but three quickfire second-half strikes within a seven-minute spell took the game away from Collot's side despite Ludovic Blas's late consolation goal.
One point from a possible nine against sides who are likely to be in and around them in terms of fighting to survive against relegation must be considered a paltry return, with a match against a top-half side in Angers unlikely to be any easier.
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After two seasons of lower mid-table finishes, Angers are establishing themselves as a stable Ligue 1 club now, with Stephane Moulin's side currently lying in ninth place after 15 matches.
However, more than one point would have been expected from two matches against two sides below them in the table in the shape of Saint-Etienne and Strasbourg in the past week.
Having drawn 0-0 at Claude Puel's stuttering side, Angers were stunned by a 2-0 home defeat to Strasbourg on Wednesday.
With an uninspiring game looking like ending as a draw, two late strikes from Habib Diallo and Ludovic Ajorque earned the visitors a surprise win. Moulin will be urging his side to rectify the latest results by winning at another struggling side in Nantes.
Nantes Ligue 1 form: DDLLDL
Angers Ligue 1 form: WLWWDL
Team News
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Nantes are without Anthony Limbombe due to an abductor tear.
Former Liverpool midfielder Pedro Chirivella will be hoping for a start, having only been used from the substitutes' bench in the loss to Reims.
Angers are without Farid El Melali and Enzo Ebosse with shoulder and cruciate ligament injuries respectively.
Moulin may be tempted to make changes after a couple of disappointing results.
Nantes possible starting lineup:
Lafont; Fabio, Castalletto, Pallois, Traore; Louza, Girotto, Toure; Blas, Kolo, Simon
Angers possible starting lineup:
Bernardoni; Manceau, Traore, Thomas, Doumbia; Coulibaly, Mangani; Lage, Fulgini, El Melali; Bahoken
We say: Nantes 2-2 Angers
With Angers struggling against sides below them in the table of late, we can envisage both sides being content with a point during a busy schedule.
Both sides are capable of scoring goals but have struggled defensively, so there should be a few goals at least.
Top betting tip
Brett Curtis
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 Nantes win with a probability of 40.1%. A win for Angers had a probability of 33.16% and a draw had a probability of 26.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Nantes win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.66%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.5%) and 2-0 (7.14%). The likeliest Angers win was 0-1 (9.5%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.7%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.7% likelihood.
