Seeking to make it five games unbeaten in Ligue 1, Reims welcome Lyon to the Stade Auguste-Delaune for Sunday's top-flight battle.
The hosts ran out 1-0 winners over Angers in last weekend's clash, while Les Gones recently eliminated Porto from the Europa League.
Match preview
© Reuters
Angers goalkeeper Danijel Petkovic must have wanted the ground to swallow him up at the Stade Raymond Kopa last week, as his costly error allowed Reims to make it four games without defeat on the spin in a clash which saw a red card brandished to both sides.
Petkovic allowed Alexis Flips's tame effort to spill through his gloves and trickle over the line through his legs, and even though Reims lost Anastasios Donis to an early bath before half time, Les Rouges et Blancs held on as Angers' Vincent Manceau was also sent off in the dying embers.
Taking eight points from the last 12 on offer in Ligue 1 and remaining unbeaten in the process, Reims appear to have staved off the threat of relegation by rising to 12th in the table with 35 points to their name - comfortably 12 clear of the bottom two and nine above Saint-Etienne in the relegation playoff spot.
There is no reason why Oscar Garcia's side cannot push for a top-half standing between now and the end of the season, but a six-point chasm currently separates them from the top 10, and they do not exactly typify consistency on their own turf.
Indeed, Reims have only prevailed in one of their last five at the Stade Auguste-Delaune in all competitions but did hold European-chasing Strasbourg to a 1-1 draw in their last home encounter, so a jelly-legged Lyon must have their wits about them this weekend.
© Reuters
Conceding four goals at home to Rennes was hardly ideal preparation for the second leg of a Europa League last-16 tie with Portuguese giants Porto, with Lyon leading 1-0 from the first leg at the Estadio do Dragao thanks to Lucas Paqueta's effort.
However, Lyon were on the up as Moussa Dembele slotted home to give his side a healthy advantage in the 13th minute on Thursday night, and while Porto attacker Pepe restored parity not long after with a delightful volley, a 1-1 draw was enough to see Les Gones progress to the last eight.
Peter Bosz's side must now make it past West Ham United for a spot in the semi-finals, but success in the Europa League may be the best shot at returning to the continental table next term, with Lyon still flattering to deceive domestically with one win from their last four in the top flight.
The visitors' inconsistent streak in Ligue 1 sees them sit smack-bang in the middle of the table in 10th spot - six points adrift of Strasbourg in the final European spot - but they can take confidence in the fact that only one of their last seven league games on the road has ended in defeat.
Reims have proven to be a bogey team for Lyon in recent years, though, with Les Gones going down 2-1 at home to their upcoming opponents back in December and only winning one of their last seven with Les Rouges et Blancs - a 3-0 home success last term.
- W
- L
- D
- W
- D
- W
- L
- W
- D
- L
- W
- L
- D
- L
- W
- W
- L
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Reims attacker Donis will serve his one-game suspension this weekend after seeing red in the Angers win, with either Nathanael Mbuku or Mitchell van Bergen primed to deputise here.
A lengthy injury list for the hosts still includes the likes of Hugo Ekitike, El Bilal Toure, Andreaw Gravillon, Moussa Doumbia and Yehvann Diouf, while Jens Cajuste is highly unlikely to be back just yet either.
However, Garcia will not consider many alterations amid his side's unbeaten streak, although Dion Lopy, Moreto Cassama and Valon Berisha could all provide a greater midfield presence if necessary.
As for Lyon, Bosz did not pick up any fresh concerns in the Porto win but is set to remain without Jerome Boateng, Rayan Cherki, Lenny Pintor and Sinaly Diomande for a little while longer.
The visiting coach will need to assess the fitness of his first-choice XI - with nine of them playing the full 90 minutes on Thursday night - but Dembele and Romain Faivre ought to be fine to go again after their 65th-minute withdrawals.
Tino Kadewere, Houssem Aouar and Jason Denayer are among those ready to be called upon should Bosz feel the need to introduce fresh legs in all areas of the pitch.
Reims possible starting lineup:
Rajkovic; Busi, Faes, Abdelhamid, Konan; Matusiwa; Munetsi; Flips, Kebbal, Mbuku; Zeneli
Lyon possible starting lineup:
Lopes; Dubois, Mendes, Lukeba, Emerson; Ndombele, Caqueret; Faivre, Paqueta, Kadewere; Dembele
We say: Reims 1-2 Lyon
An increasingly resilient Reims should sense an opportunity to keep their unbeaten run going given their extended period of rest, but an inexperienced side may fall just short here.
A new wave of confidence should overcome this stop-start Lyon side after dumping Porto out of Europe, with an extensive list of attacking options more than capable of breaching Garcia's defence on more than one occasion.
Top tip
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 Lyon win with a probability of 45.84%. A win for Reims had a probability of 28.63% and a draw had a probability of 25.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Lyon win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.62%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.2%) and 0-2 (8.05%). The likeliest Reims win was 1-0 (8.01%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.13%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 7% likelihood.
