Laval face their biggest test yet in the Coupe de France as they journey to the Stade de la Beaujoire to take on Nantes for a place in the round-of-16 on Saturday.
This will be their first meeting since squaring off in a pre-season fixture back in June 2023, when the Ligue 2 outfit cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory in Besancon.
Match preview
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Nantes were left empty handed in Ligue 1 yet again as they suffered a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Clermont Foot when the two sides squared off last Sunday.
In a game where Benie Traore received his marching orders, Shamar Nicholson and Jim Allevinah scored either side of Florent Mollet's 47th-minute equaliser to hand Les Lanciers all three points.
Nantes have now lost each of their last four Ligue 1 matches, conceding seven goals and scoring twice since a 1-0 victory over Nice at the Stade de la Beaujoire on December 2 — a run which has seen them drop to 13th place in the Ligue 1 table.
Jocelyn Gourvennec's men now turn their attention to the Coupe de France, where they cruised to a comfortable 4-1 victory over Pau on January 5 thanks to goals from courtesy of goals from Florent Mollet, Abdoul Kader Bamba and a brace from Tino Kadewere.
Laval, on the other hand, kicked off their cup campaign with an emphatic 5-0 victory over US Provin on November 18, three weeks before edging out St. Philbert 2-1 at the Stade Marcel Saupin in the second round.
Olivier Frapolli's side cruised through the round of 64 in their first outing of the year when they picked up a 4-0 victory over Championnat National 3 outfit Dieppe thanks to goals from Antonin Bobichon, Junior Kadile, Sam Sanna and Malik Tchokounte.
While Laval have enjoyed a solid cup run, they have struggled to get going in Ligue 2, where they are without a win their last five matches, losing twice and claiming three draws, including last Saturday's goalless draw with Saint-Etienne.
Despite their recent struggle in the league, Les Tango are on course to secure a place in the playoffs as they sit fourth in the table, level on 35 points with third-placed Grenoble and six points off league leaders Auxerre.
Laval head into this weekend's cup tie unbeaten in 11 of their last 12 games on the travels across all competitions — claiming eight wins and three draws — with a 2-0 defeat at Ajaccio on December 5 being the exception.
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Team News
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Nantes will take to the pitch without the services of Sheffield United loanee Traore, who is currently suspended after picking up a red card against Clermont Foot last time out.
Samuel Moutoussamy (Congo DR), Mostafa Mohamed (Egypt), Moses Simon (Nigeria) and Jean-Charles Castelletto are all away at the Africa Cup of Nations and will play no part in Saturday's game.
On the injury front, Gourvennec will be unable to call upon Bastien Meupiyou and Ignatius Ganago, who have been sidelined through ACL injuries, while Ronael Pierre-Gabriel is set to sit out his fifth consecutive game through a muscle problem.
Meanwhile, Laval will have to cope without the services of French midfielder Ryan Ferhaoui, who has been sidelined since March 2023 through an Achilles tendon injury.
Off the back of a solid defensive display against Saint-Etienne, Frapolli could name a similar XI this weekend, with Pape Djibril Diaw, Yohan Tavares and Yasser Balde forming the back three shielding Mamadou Samassa between the sticks.
Tchokounte scored a first-half brace against Nantes in their pre-season clash back in June and the Cameroonian striker will be looking to deliver the goods once again.
Nantes possible starting lineup:
Lafont; Coco, Coemert, Pallois, Merlin; Chirivella, Sissoko, Augusto, Kadewere; Mollet, Abline
Laval possible starting lineup:
Samassa; Diaw, Tavares, Balde; Cherni, Bobichon, Roye, Sanna, Vargas; Tchokounte, Kadile
We say: Nantes 2-0 Laval
While Laval have blitzed through the Coupe de France so far, they should expect a sterner challenge from a more experienced Nantes side. While we expect the visitors to put up a fight, Nantes' home advantage gives them an edge here and we are backing them to come away with the desired result.
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