An unstoppable Strasbourg side welcome top-four rivals Nice to the Stade de la Meinau in one of the most intriguing Ligue 1 fixtures this weekend on Saturday night.
Only Paris Saint-Germain can lay claim to being in better form than Strasbourg in any of Europe's top-five leagues at present, with Liam Rosenior's youthful side on course to qualify for the Champions League.
Match preview
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Even at the midway point of the campaign, almost nobody would have predicted Strasbourg to be in the driving seat to qualify for the Champions League with six games remaining, but that is what has transpired.
A scarcely-believable run of form which has seen the Alsace club take 35 points from a possible 42 has catapulted them up the Ligue 1 standings, and they enter this fixture on the back of five successive wins.
Three of those five wins have been accompanied by a clean sheet, while they also struck four past Lyon in their last outing on home soil, so the current crop will be confident they can become just the second Strasbourg team to win six Ligue 1 games in a row, and the first since 1935.
While youthful exuberance can often lead to naivety, this Strasbourg side are among the strongest defensively in the division, with six clean sheets in their last eight games, and that is the main reason why they now find themselves fourth in the table.
Sights could also be set on breaking into the automatic Champions League places, and with Monaco and Marseille going head-to-head this weekend, a victory could well see them move into the top three.
Rosenior's side have a mixed finish in terms of fixtures, because they must still face Nice next, as well as Monaco and PSG, but they have three winnable encounters against Le Havre, Saint-Etienne and Angers.
It is against clubs near the bottom where they have often performed better, which does not bode well for this next encounter, given that they have only won three of the 11 matches against teams in the top eight this season.
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Nice in particular have proven to be tricky opponents in recent times, losing three in a row to their upcoming visitors, including 3-1 here last season, and 2-1 in the reverse fixture, despite Dilane Bakwa opening the scoring in both.
The visitors are far from flying, though, because a sudden collapse has seen them fall out of the top four entirely and into sixth, after a superb run of form midway through the campaign.
Three defeats in four matches is as many as they had suffered in the previous 23, with Lyon, Monaco and Nantes getting the better of them, while they were only able to draw at home to Auxerre in the other match during that sequence.
That means Franck Haise's side start the weekend in sixth, but with just five points separating second and seventh, anything can still happen in the race for the top four.
This fixture and the trip to PSG will be hugely difficult for Nice, but they still have home matches to come against Angers, Brest and Rennes, and Haise will know nine points is the minimum requirement there if they are to finish in the top four.
Team News
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There is little reason for Rosenior to change anything at the moment, but the Strasbourg manager does enjoy tinkering with his lineup slightly, such as moving full-back Valentin Barco into midfield to great effect.
The hosts will have to do without key player Diego Moreira though, because he was sent off during the melee late on against Reims last weekend, while Strasbourg only have one first-team player currently out injured, and that is Dion Sahi, who is missing with a knee issue.
Nice will have a full complement of defenders available to them again, with Melvin Bard and 41-year-old Dante both back from suspension, with the former needing to watch his step after two red cards in four games.
Sofiane Diop missed the defeat at home to Nantes last weekend, and he remains a doubt for this one, along with former France international Tanguy Ndombele, who is suffering from a groin strain.
Strasbourg possible starting lineup:
Petrovic; Doukoure, Sarr, Sylla; Bakwa, Andrey Santos, Barco, Sobol; Diarra, Emegha, Nanasi
Nice possible starting lineup:
Bulka; Bombito, Ndayishimiye, Dante; Clauss, Rosario, Boudaoui, Bard; Guessand, Cho, Boga
We say: Strasbourg 1-1 Nice
It is tough to go against Strasbourg given their recent form, but they often struggle slightly more against the stronger teams in the division, and if Nice can get over their recent blip, they will prove to be tough opponents here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
