Meeting in a Loire derby at Stade de la Beaujoire, mid-table Nantes and struggling Angers return to Ligue 1 action on Sunday.
Having both secured draws last weekend, the ninth-placed hosts lead their visitors by 13 points in the standings and will hope for a repeat of September's 4-1 win in the reverse fixture.
Match preview
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After suffering successive defeats to end March - losing to both Troyes and Lille - this month has started more positively for Nantes, who followed up their 3-2 victory over Clermont with an away draw last time out.
The matchwinner a week previously, Randal Kolo Muani struck again at Stade Francis-Le Ble last Sunday, but his 10th-minute goal was ultimately cancelled out by Brendan Chardonnet's second-half equaliser for the hosts.
As a result, Antoine Kombouare's men have slipped one place in the table, but with Lille and Lens both within two points of them with seven games still to go, they can feasibly challenge for a spot in the top six by the season's end.
Les Canaris will be faced by local rivals in their 2000th Ligue 1 game this week - also their 1000th on home soil - and as they have accrued their best points tally at this stage of a campaign since 2004, when they went on to finish sixth, will be confident of coming out on top.
Having enjoyed a comprehensive win when the sides last met, and with the club's best win-rate against any top-flight opponents being against Angers, the Coupe de France finalists certainly kick off with history on their side.
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Though they held Sunday's opponents to a 1-1 draw on their last trip to Stade de la Beaujoire back in December 2020, Angers also lost 3-1 at home to Nantes just over a year ago, so an inferiority complex in this match-up would be understandable.
However, Les Noirs et Blancs have been beaten in just one of their last three Ligue 1 matches after previously enduring a seven-game losing streak, and they remain on course to complete their survival mission when the campaign concludes next month.
After Sofiane Boufal's penalty secured a vital win over Brest just before the international break, Gerard Baticle's side fell to a 3-2 defeat at Lyon, then last week they came close to taking all three points off reigning champions Lille.
Leading by a single goal heading into the final 20 minutes, Edon Zhegrova's equaliser meant that they had to settle for only a point, but now sitting six points clear of the relegation playoff place, Angers will hope that the tide has been turned.
To ensure they are not dragged into the bottom three over the next few weeks, though, such improvement must continue, and they will hope to take something away from this local affair as their following opponents are champions-elect Paris Saint-Germain.
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Team News
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Though Nantes defender Jean-Charles Castelletto faces a one-match suspension for accumulated bookings, his ban will not apply until the midweek trip to Marseille, so the Cameroon international should feature in the hosts' back three on Sunday.
Antoine Kombouare will be without Nicolas Pallois and long-term absentee Charles Traore due to injuries, though, while Samuel Moutoussamy remains a doubt with an ankle problem.
The former PSG coach is unlikely to make many changes from last week's starting XI - with in-form Randal Kolo Muani leading the line again - but winger Willem Geubbels, on loan from Monaco, is pushing for a place in the side.
Meanwhile, Angers will have Souleyman Doumbia out of action as he serves a suspension, so Mathias Pereira Lage could switch across to the left flank as cover. Jimmy Cabot is also set to be unavailable with an ankle injury.
Once again, former Southampton forward Sofiane Boufal will look to provide the visitors with inspiration in attack, having registered seven goals and five assists in Ligue 1 this term.
Nantes possible starting lineup:
Lafont; Castelletto, Girotto, Appiah; Fabio, Cyprien, Chirivella, Merlin; Blas, Simon; Muani
Angers possible starting lineup:
Mandrea; Ebosse, Thomas, Traore; Bamba, Bentaleb, Mangani, Mendy, Lage; Boufal; Bahoken
We say: Nantes 2-1 Angers
Nantes can give their unlikely push for the top six a boost by adding three more points to an impressive tally, as they have already won nine of their 15 home fixtures and represent a tough nut to crack at Stade de la Beaujoire.
Despite flickers of hope for Angers of late, they do not travel well and are set to once again fall short.
Jonathan O'Shea
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 Nantes win with a probability of 56.14%. A draw had a probability of 24.1% and a win for Angers had a probability of 19.74%.
The most likely scoreline for a Nantes win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.85%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.82%) and 2-1 (9.62%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.42%), while for an Angers win it was 0-1 (6.79%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with an 11.4% likelihood.
