Strasbourg will continue their search for a first Ligue 1 win of the season on Sunday, when they entertain Clermont.

The hosts find themselves in 18th spot with four points from six games, while their visitors have managed three wins thus far and sit eighth at this early stage.

Match preview

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After a sixth-placed finish in Ligue 1 last season, Strasbourg set out for another campaign of fighting around the top end of the division, but they have been unable to put a victory on the board in six attempts thus far.

Their season began with a narrow defeat at the hands of Monaco, before playing out 1-1 draws with Nice and Reims and heading into a contest with newly-promoted Auxerre.

Gaetan Perrin hit the only goal of that game to condemn Julien Stephan's side to a second league defeat of the term, leaving them on just two points from four outings, and they were unable to halt the winless run in the following encounter with Nantes, as their opponents equalised in the 85th minute after Habib Diallo looked set to have fired them to a 1-0 triumph.

Still looking to add a notch to their wins column, Le Racing made the trip to take on Brest last weekend, and, after Pierre Lees-Melou gave their opponents an early lead, Ludovic Ajorque equalised from the penalty spot and Strasbourg stood strong while playing the last hour with 10 men, following Sanjin Prcic's red card to leave with a 1-1 draw and a valuable point.

While they may take some confidence from the resilience they showed while being outnumbered, Stephan's side will now be more desperate than ever to put a three-point haul on the board at the seventh time of asking in Ligue 1, but they face another tough test.

Clermont will make the trip in high spirits, having accumulated nine points from their six matches, with the first of those being an understandable defeat at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain.

They quickly bounced back with 4-2 and 1-0 victories over Reims and Nice respectively, with Saif Eddine-Khaoui's sixth-minute goal making the difference in the latter, before suffering a 2-1 defeat away at Lorient with their attempt at a comeback hampered by Neto Borges's red card at the beginning of the second half.

Les Lanciers would then fall just short away at second-placed Marseille, following a commendable effort, before being able to return to winning ways last time out, as Maxime Gonalons and Muhammed Cham got on the scoresheet in a 2-0 beating of Toulouse.

Such a result has seen Pascal Gastien's side climb up to eighth spot, and, having only just avoided a bottom-three finish last term, they will aim to continue their strong start and gain an early edge as they hope to establish themselves further up in France's top flight this time around.

Team News

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Strasbourg are unable to call on midfielder Sanjin Prcic, as he will serve a suspension following his red card against Brest, while Lucas Perrin, Gerzino Nyamsi and Thomas Delaine will continue spells in the treatment room.

Experienced forward Kevin Gameiro will be pushing for a starting berth, but he again may have to settle for a substitute appearance after Ludovic Ajorque got on the scoresheet last time out, with Habib Diallo also seen as a key component of the attacking unit.

In the absence of Prcic, Adrien Thomasson could come into the midfield and operate just ahead of Habib Diarra and Jean-Eudes Aholou.

Clermont could look to come into Sunday's game unchanged from last week's win, but Muhammed Cham will be vying for a starting berth after his goal off the bench.

Following on from their clean sheet, the back three of Maximiliano Caufriez, Alidu Seidu and Mateusz Wieteska should not be altered, with Maxime Gonalons and Johan Gastien providing further stability in the engine room.

Unless Cham forces his way in, Grejohn Kyei could again be flanked by Jodel Dossou and Jim Allevinah in a front three.

Strasbourg possible starting lineup:
Sels; Pierre-Gabriel, Le Marchand, Djiku; Bellegarde, Aholou, Diarra, Dagba; Thomasson; Diallo, Ajorque

Clermont possible starting lineup:
Diaw; Caufriez, Seidu, Wieteska; Bela, Gastien, Gonalons, Borges; Dossou, Kyei, Allevinah

We say: Strasbourg 1-1 Clermont

Strasbourg will certainly be fighting hard to put a win on the board on Sunday, but their attack is far from thriving and we do not see them outclassing a visiting side who will have confidence from a positive start to the campaign, instead opting for what would be the hosts' fifth league draw of the term.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Sam Varley

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