Nantes entertain Metz in Ligue 1 on Sunday with the visitors having a slim chance of moving into a Champions League qualification position with a victory.
The hosts, meanwhile, are looking to put more distance between themselves and the relegation zone.
Match preview
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Nantes left it late when winning 2-0 at Lorient prior to the international break, with Christian Gourcuff's side striking twice in the last ten minutes.
Lorient had been the better side in the opening half, with Alban Lafont forced into action on two notable occasions, including making a phenomenal save with his head after rushing out of his goal to deny the onrushing Yoane Wissa.
Both sides pushed for a winner in the second half, with Nantes striking the bar before former Newcastle United winger Sylvain Marveaux hit the post from close range, with Thomas Basila's driving run and pass from defence finding Kader Bamba in the penalty area. The forward excellently placed his finish inside the far post past opposition goalkeeper Paul Nardi.
Ludovic Blas sealed the three points three minutes later after good work from Basila found the forward in front of goal, with Blas nonchalantly rounding Nardi and finishing with aplomb. Gourcuff will be hoping his side can build on the positive result against Metz.
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Metz, meanwhile, have coped surprisingly well since top goalscorer Ibrahima Niane was injured in the 3-1 win over Lorient on October 4.
The Senegal forward scored a phenomenal six goals in his side's first six matches, including a hat-trick against Lorient. However, Frederic Antonetti's side have since remained unbeaten in four matches, albeit only winning once, including a 1-1 draw at home to Dijon prior to the international break.
Things could have been different had Opa Nguette not missed a penalty after Farid Boulaya had been brought down, with Mama Balde punishing the hosts just two minutes later after superb work from Mounir Chouiar laid the ball on a plate for his teammate. Papa Ndiaga Yade restored parity in the 21st minute, with his left-footed strike squirming past opposition goalkeeper Anthony Racioppi, but Dijon should have taken the lead once more when Chouiar was presented with a chance from the penalty spot after Dylan Bronn tripped Balde, but another penalty was missed with the game fizzling out afterwards.
While Antonetti will be satisfied with his side's results since his star player was lost for the foreseeable future, he will be hoping to pick up a few more wins in the coming weeks.
Nantes Ligue 1 form: LLLWLW
Metz Ligue 1 form: DWDWWD
Team News
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Gourcuff remains without wingers Moses Simon (adductor) and Anthony Limbombe (abductor), meaning Blas and Marcus Coco should continue in the wide areas.
Former Liverpool midfielder Pedro Chirivella was left on the bench at Lorient and will be hoping to return to the side having started every match beforehand.
Niane is likely to be out for several months having ruptured his cruciate ligament, while Manuel Cabit (traffic accident), Kevin N'Doram (Achilles tendon) and Vagner (unknown) are also unavailable.
Thierry Ambrose will be hoping to earn only a second league start of the season in attack.
Nantes possible starting lineup:
Lafont; Appiah, Girotto, Pallois, Fabio; Toure, Abeid; Blas, Louza, Coco; Kolo
Metz possible starting lineup:
Oukijda; Centonze, Bronn, Boye, Delaine; Maiga, Fofana; Gueye, Boulaya, Yade; Nguette
We say: Nantes 1-2 Metz
Given how impressively Metz have coped with the injury to Niane, we think they may have enough to edge past a Nantes side who have not exactly sparkled this season.
A win could take Metz as high as third in the table.
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 45.53%. A draw had a probability of 27.6% and a win for Metz had a probability of 26.86%.
The most likely scoreline for a Nantes win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.32%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (8.98%) and 2-1 (8.68%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.87%), while for a Metz win it was 0-1 (9.55%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.9% likelihood.
