Nantes and Angers will face off on Sunday at Stade de la Beaujoire in a pivotal encounter amid the ongoing Ligue 1 relegation battle.
The hosts are 14th in the table and four points above the drop zone, while the visitors are 15th in the league standings and just two points above relegation.
Match preview
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Aside from an anomalous ninth-placed finish in 2021-22, Nantes have consistently battled against relegation from Ligue 1 over the past four seasons, finishing 18th in 2020-21, 16th in 2022-23 and 14th in 2023-24.
Appointed in March 2023 for his second stint at the club, Antoine Kombouare successfully saved Nantes from relegation last season, but the Canaries find themselves battling for survival once again this term.
Nantes are 14th in the Ligue 1 table with 32 points from 31 league games, after seven wins, 11 draws and 13 defeats, leaving them four points above the drop zone with three fixtures remaining.
That means Kombouare's men could confirm their Ligue 1 survival if they take all three points on Sunday and Le Havre fall to defeat against Auxerre, and Nantes have every reason to be confident given their recent record in this meeting.
The Canaries have avoided defeat to Angers in all of the past nine meetings, recording five wins and four draws in that time, including victories in each of the last two clashes at Stade de la Beaujoire.
Angers also head into this encounter in a miserable run of form, as Alexandre Dujeux's side have won only one of their last 10 games across all competitions, suffering eight defeats in that time.
That lacklustre run has seen Angers fall from 11th in the standings to 15th, leaving the Black and Whites narrowly two points above the drop zone with three games left to play.
Sunday's clash could be crucial if Angers are to confirm their safety in the top flight, with challenging matches against seventh-placed Strasbourg and fifth-placed Lyon to come, leaving Dujeux desperate for all three points.
If they are to secure points then Angers must massively improve on their recent performances, as the Black and Whites have scored just three goals in the last eight outings.
Team News
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The hosts will be without Saidou Sow for the rest of the season due to a cruciate ligament injury, while Francis Coquelin is ruled out until later this month due to a hamstring issue.
Marcus Coco and Douglas Augusto will both be unavailable for selection, with Coco serving the final match of a three-game suspension for a red card and Augusto sidelined due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
Moses Simon has been Nantes's standout performer this season, with seven goals and nine assists in the league, and the Nigerian should continue in attack.
As for the visitors, Sidiki Cherif, Haris Belkebla, Pierrick Capelle, Ahmadou Bamba Dieng, Jean-Eudes Aholou, Emmanuel Biumla and Cedric Hountondji are all out with injury issues.
Esteban Lepaul has been Angers' main source of goals in the league this term, scoring seven in 25 appearances, and they will be relying on the striker to make the difference here.
Nantes possible starting lineup:
Lopes; Amian, Castelletto, Zeze, Pallois, Cozza; Lepenant, Chirivella, Leroux; Abline, Simon
Angers possible starting lineup:
Fofana; Arcus, Bamba, Lefort, Hanin; Belkhdim, Khaled; El Melali, Abdelli, Allevinah; Lepaul
We say: Nantes 1-0 Angers
Nantes have had the upper hand in recent meetings, and with Angers losing eight of their last nine matches while failing to score in six of them, we expect the hosts to secure a win and keep a clean sheet.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
