Preview: Lorient vs. Angers - prediction, team news, lineups

Lorient will look to build on a 4-1 win over Bordeaux and put more distance between themselves and the relegation zone on Sunday, when they host Angers.

A crucial win last time out put the hosts four points above the drop zone in the Ligue 1 table, while their visitors will look to break a four-game losing run.

Match preview

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Lorient picked up an impressive 4-1 victory last Sunday, when they hosted fellow strugglers Bordeaux.

Yoane Wissa opened the scoring for Les Merlus, before Terem Moffi netted a hat-trick to give them a four-goal lead, and Issouf Sissokho's late goal for the visitors was nothing but a consolation.

That followed consecutive defeats for Christophe Pelissier's side, restoring the gap between themselves and the drop zone.

Le FCL now sit four points above Nantes in the relegation playoff place and Nimes in the automatic drop zone, with four games of the season left to play.

That means Pelissier's men are not safe yet, and they will be desperate to record a second consecutive victory to increase their cushion and take a huge step closer to confirming their safety.

Their opponents may have already confirmed their survival, but will be hoping to break a run of poor form, having lost their last three league outings.

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Angers come into this game on the back of four consecutive defeats in all competitions, most recently suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat to third-placed Monaco, as Wissam Ben-Yedder netted the winner in the 79th minute.

Before that, Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain comfortably dispatched Stephane Moulin's side, as a Mauro Icardi hat-trick alongside a Neymar goal and a Vincent Manceau own goal fired the Parisiens to a dominant 5-0 win in the French Cup quarter-final.

That heavy loss followed consecutive 3-0 defeats for Le SCO, as they fell to Stade Rennais and Lyon over the course of seven days.

With 10 points separating Angers and the drop zone with 12 points left to play for, Moulin's men are all but safe, but they will be looking to end their poor run of form and build momentum going into the next campaign.

Team News

Terem Moffi will lead the Lorient line with plenty of confidence on Sunday, having netted a hat-trick last time out to take his tally to 14 Ligue 1 goals this season.

Goalkeeper Paul Nardi returned to the side last time out after being dropped to the bench, and he should remain between the posts.

Experienced midfielder Jonathan Delaplace will remain out of action having missed the last two games with a calf injury, with Fabien Lemoine and Laurent Abergel expected to partner up again in the middle.

Angers will remain without winger Sofiane Boufal, who is expected to miss the remainder of the season through injury.

He has recently been joined on the sidelines by right-back Abdoulaye Bamba and left-back Souleyman Doumbia, worsening Moulin's selection concerns.

Lassana Coulibaly did come into the midfield last time out, and he should feature from the start again on Sunday.

Lorient possible starting lineup:
Nardi; Hergault, Chalobah, Laporte, Morel, Le Goff; Le Fee, Lemoine, Abergel, Wissa; Moffi

Angers possible starting lineup:
Bernardoni; Manceau, Pavlovic, Traore, Thomas, Capelle; Amadou, Coulibaly, Mangani; Lage, Diony

We say: Lorient 2-0 Angers

Angers come into this game in a poor run of form, and we see that continuing on Sunday as they take on a Lorient side who will be desperate for a win to boost their survival bid.

A confident Moffi could get on the scoresheet again, firing his side to a crucial victory.