Nantes will be aiming to continue their charge for a European berth when they travel to the Stade de l'Aube to face Troyes in Sunday's Ligue 1 encounter.
The hosts managed to claim a 2-0 win over an out-of-sorts Bordeaux last time out, while Antoine Kombouare's side saw off Montpellier HSC by the same scoreline.
Match preview
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With Bordeaux in an utterly dire predicament on and off the field at present, the stage was set for Troyes to come out on top in the basement battle and put some daylight between themselves and the relegation zone, and it was an opportunity they took.
A bad-tempered encounter saw Troyes strike first in comical fashion, as Mama Balde's penalty was initially saved by Gaetan Poussin before the Bordeaux goalkeeper inadvertently flicked the ball over the line with his boot while still on the ground, and Lebo Mothiba struck convincingly from the spot in the 87th minute.
Despite going down to 10 men in the dying embers of a clash which saw no fewer than eight cards brandished out, Troyes picked up a crucial victory to rise clear of danger into 16th place, with three points now separating them from the automatic relegation places.
Bruno Irles's side will remain on high alert throughout the final few months as they endeavour to secure back-to-back triumphs at this level of football, but their last two wins have come away from home, with the Stade de l'Aube not a happy hunting ground for the hosts in recent weeks.
Indeed, Troyes have failed to win any of their last six games on familiar territory in all competitions - although they did hold Marseille to a draw in front of their own fans last month - and Nantes need no second invitation to take advantage of such frailties.
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The progress Nantes have made under Kombouare in the 2021-22 season has been nothing short of astounding, as after salvaging their Ligue 1 status in the playoffs last term, Les Canaris are well and truly in the continental conversation this time around.
When an out-of-sorts Montpellier paid a visit to the Stade de la Beaujoire last week, Nantes drew first blood in the 69th minute through Randal Kolo Muani's 10th goal of the season before Willem Geubbels settled the contest following a swift counter-attack.
Now posting a remarkable five wins from their last six in all competitions - including a penalty shootout victory over Monaco in the semi-finals of the Coupe de France - Nantes have surged up to sixth place, just two behind Strasbourg in the final European spot and five adrift of the Champions League places.
As eye-catching as their recent run has been, it is important to note that all of Nantes' last eight wins have come on home soil, with Kombouare's side taking just one point from their last three away games and only finding the back of the net once in that stretch.
However, Les Canaris eased to a 2-0 win over Troyes in the autumn - their fifth consecutive win and fifth consecutive clean sheet against ESTAC - so the time is nigh for Nantes to replicate their stellar home showings on hostile territory.
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Team News
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Troyes left-back Youssouf Kone saw red within 15 minutes of replacing the injured Mama Balde against Bordeaux and will miss out here, while Giulian Biancone is suspended for an accumulation of yellow cards.
Irles will at least be boosted by the return of Florian Tardieu from a ban of his own, and Balde's injury does not appear to be serious, while there is also hope that Tristan Dingome, Renaud Ripart, Oualid El Hajjam and Yoann Touzghar can all return to the squad here.
Adil Rami would be a shoo-in to replace Biancone, but the veteran defender is still an injury doubt, so El Hajjam may be thrown straight back into the thick of the action here.
As for Nantes, Marcus Coco and Fabio remain on the sidelines with their ankle problems, with Kombouare not expecting the former to return for approximately three weeks.
Jean-Kevin Augustin (groin) will not feature this weekend but is edging closer to a comeback, while 19-year-old playmaker Gor Manvelyan is also set to miss out.
Kombouare should not tinker with a winning formula too much, but Osman Bukari provided the assist for Geubbels's strike off the bench against Montpellier and will hope to come into contention for a start over Roli Pereira de Sa.
Troyes possible starting lineup:
Gallon; El Hajjam, Palmer-Brown, Salmier; Kabore, Kouame, Chambost, Conte; Balde, Mothiba, Chavalerin
Nantes possible starting lineup:
Lafont; Pallois, Castelletto, Girotto; Corchia, Chirivella, Blas, Merlin; Bukari, Kolo Muani, Simon
We say: Troyes 0-2 Nantes
Troyes have picked up a couple of respectable results in recent weeks for a much-needed injection of confidence, but facing a European-chasing Nantes side is a different kettle of fish to locking horns with basement boys Bordeaux.
Kombouare's side are steam-rolling their way past most who stand in their wake and know a thing or two about keeping clean sheets in this fixture, so we expect Les Canaris to keep the pressure on the top five with a professional performance and all three points.
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 Troyes win with a probability of 39.99%. A win for Nantes had a probability of 31.58% and a draw had a probability of 28.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Troyes win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.57%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.08%) and 2-0 (7.68%). The likeliest Nantes win was 0-1 (10.82%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.22%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 12.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Troyes in this match.
