On the back of respective defeats in their most recent Ligue 1 affairs, Strasbourg and Nantes seek to right their recent wrongs at the Stade de la Meinau on Friday night.
Patrick Vieira's side fell to a 1-0 loss to Lens last week, while Les Canaris fell short in a 3-1 beating at the hands of Breton rivals Rennes.
Match preview
© Reuters
Only a few days before propelling Lens to a famous Champions League victory over Premier League powerhouses Arsenal, Lens attacker Elye Wahi was also the thorn in Strasbourg's side on September 29, finding the bottom corner with aplomb after just 16 minutes at the Stade de la Meinau.
Les Sang et Or - and former Strasbourg playmaker Adrien Thomasson - were presented with several chances to increase their tally on the night, and had it not been for the efforts of Coureurs goalkeeper Matz Sels, Franck Haise's side could have travelled home with a more emphatic victory to boast about.
In contrast, a first home defeat of the season for Strasbourg leaves Vieira's team eighth in the rankings with 10 points from a possible 21 - far from a disastrous start - but a mere seven goals scored is the joint-lowest total of all teams outside the automatic relegation places.
Since the start of September, a slender 1-0 success at newly-promoted Metz is all that Les Coureurs have had to shout about, but prior to their painful loss at the hands of Lens, home was where the heart was for Strasbourg in Ligue 1.
Indeed, Friday's hosts had strung together a five-game unbeaten run at the Stade de la Meinau earlier this year - taking points off Lyon, Nice and Paris Saint-Germain in that time - and they have only failed to score in two of their last 17 Ligue 1 matches in front of the home crowd.
© Reuters
Displaying a traffic light-themed set of results in their opening six games of the new term, Nantes recovered from an opening two defeats to post draws with Monaco and Marseille, before heading to Roazhon Park on the back of successive wins over Clermont and Lorient.
Les Canaris had shipped three to Lorient while bagging a fantastic five at the correct end of the field, but they were unable to fight fire with fire in last weekend's Breton derby, where Pedro Chirivella had capitalised on a defensive error to cancel out Benjamin Bourigeaud's penalty on the stroke of half time.
Rennes substitute Desire Doue had only been on the pitch for two minutes before restoring the hosts' advantage, and after star striker Mostafa Mohamed was foolishly sent off for protesting a yellow card too heavily for the referee's liking, Arnaud Kalimuendo made sure of the result from the spot in added time.
A truly forgettable derby for Pierre Aristouy's men saw their four-match unbeaten run come to a swift end, and Nantes enter Friday's contest five places worse off than Strasbourg in an unlucky 13th spot, only two points above Lorient in the relegation playoff place.
Furthermore, only one of the visitors' last 10 Ligue 1 away matches has ended in defeat, and they are winless in four successive games against Strasbourg since walking away from the Stade de la Meinau with a 2-1 triumph under their belts in April 2021, where Ludovic Blas scored the winning goal before crossing the Nantes-Rennes divide this summer.
Team News
© Reuters
Alongside long-term ACL victim Karol Fila - who is at risk of missing the rest of the campaign - Vieira is also dealing with concerns over the ill Mehdi Chahiri and Maxime Bastian (muscle) ahead of Friday's visit of Nantes.
Nevertheless, Vieira is still blessed with several options for rotation in all areas of the pitch, and striker Emanuel Emegha may be fearing for his place after stretching his goalless run to four games last time out; Kevin Gameiro and Lebo Mothiba are alternative options.
Marvin Senaya's spot at right-back is also under threat from the more experienced Frederic Guilbert, while the long-serving Ibrahima Sissoko could freshen up the three-pronged midfield.
Having just been cautioned for a foul against Rennes, Nantes talisman Mohamed inexcusably squared up to the referee and was immediately banished from the field of play, forcing Aristouy to work around the absence of his suspended marksman on Friday.
Only Kylian Mbappe (seven) has struck more goals than Mohamed's five in the 2023-24 Ligue 1 season so far, and with Ignatius Ganago (thigh) also out of contention, the attacking responsibility should now fall upon the shoulders of Matthis Abline, who was ineligible to face parent club Rennes last time out.
Fabien Centonze (hamstring) and Nathan Zeze (appendicitis) are also in the care of the medical team, so Ronael Pierre-Gabriel and Jean-Kevin Duverne will battle to deputise for the former once again.
Strasbourg possible starting lineup:
Sels; Guilbert, Perrin, Nyamsi, Delaine; Deminguet, Doukoure, Diarra; Angelo, Mothiba, Bakwa
Nantes possible starting lineup:
Lafont; Pierre-Gabriel, Comert, Castelletto, Merlin; Chirivella, Moutoussamy, Sissoko; Mollet, Abline, Simon
We say: Strasbourg 1-1 Nantes
Mohamed's enforced absence will no doubt hamper Nantes' attacking proficiency, but a refreshed Abline still poses a threat to the Strasbourg backline, and consistency at the back has been hard to come by for the hosts.
However, Strasbourg are very rarely kept at arm's length in the final third at the Stade de la Meinau, and while a home win is not beyond the realm of possibility, a point apiece seems the most likely outcome between two evenly-matched outfits.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
