Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Ligue 1 clash between Nantes and Lorient, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Fresh from securing their first win of the season, Nantes will look to build momentum when Lorient visit the Stade de la Beaujoire on Saturday afternoon.
The Canaries claimed a 1-0 victory over Clermont last time out, while Lorient snatched a last-gasp draw against table-topping Monaco in their previous clash.
Match preview
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After avoiding relegation by the skin of their teeth last season – finishing one point outside the drop zone – Nantes looked destined to endure another difficult campaign as they started 2023-24 with successive losses against Toulouse and Lille.
Since then, however, Pierre Aristouy‘s men have chalked up a three-game unbeaten streak, recording back-to-back draws with Monaco and Marseille before last weekend’s win against Clermont, so they will be confident of picking up another positive result on Saturday.
After bagging a brace in last month’s 3-3 draw with Monaco, Mostafa Mohamed scored again as Nantes held Marseille to a 1-1 draw before the international break, while the Canaries played almost the entire game with 10 men following Bastien Meupiyou‘s ninth-minute red card.
La Maison Jaune extended their unbeaten run to three matches with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Clermont last time out, with Moses Simon scoring the only goal of the game, meaning that Nantes carry plenty of momentum in Saturday’s showdown at the Stade de la Beaujoire.
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Like Nantes, Lorient have managed to win just one of their five matches this season, but the Brittany outfit have also suffered a solitary defeat, recording three draws to remain one point above the Canaries in the Ligue 1 table ahead of Saturday’s clash.
Les Merlus kicked off their campaign by holding Paris Saint-Germain to a shock goalless draw at the Parc des Princes, despite seeing just 22% possession while facing a barrage of 20 shots, while the visitors failed to register a single attempt on target.
Following a 1-1 draw with Nice and a 4-1 victory over Lille, King Le Bris‘s men were brought back down to earth by newly-promoted Le Havre, suffering a 3-0 defeat at the Stade Oceane to end their unbeaten start to the season and upset the team’s rhythm.
However, Lorient came from behind to pick up a positive result against high-flying Monaco last weekend, with Romain Faivre‘s 98th-minute equaliser earning his team a 2-2 draw against the league leaders, meaning that Les Merlus are heading in the right direction again.
Nantes Ligue 1 form:
Lorient Ligue 1 form:
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Team News
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Nantes will have to make do without Fabien Centonze for the foreseeable future as the right-back continues to recover from a broken rib, while goalkeeper Alban Lafont and 18-year-old defender Nathan Zeze also remain sidelined due to injury.
In Lafont’s absence, Remy Descamps will continue to deputise between the sticks, with Ronael Pierre-Gabriel, Eray Comert, Jean-Charles Castelletto and Quentin Merlin expected to complete the backline in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
At the opposite end of the pitch, Cameroonian forward Ignatius Grain looks set to lead the line for the hosts, with Marquinhos, Florent Mollet and Moses Simon operating behind the lone striker.
Lorient, on the other hand, could be without as many as seven first-team players this weekend, as Tiemoue Bakayoko, Quentin Boisgard, Bamba Dieng, Bonke Innocent, Ayman Kari, Jean-Victor Makengo and Formosa Mendy have all missed recent games through injury.
Regis Le Bris will likely continue with a 3-4-2-1 formation on Saturday, meaning that Montassar Talbi, Julien Laporte and Isaac Toure will line up at centre-back, while Romain Faivre and Although Aiyegun will operate behind Eli Junior Croup in attack.
Nantes possible starting lineup:
Deschamps; Pierre-Gabriel, Cumart, Castelletto, Merlin; Chirivella, Augusto; Marquinhos, Mollet, Simon; Ganago
Lorient possible starting lineup:
Mvogo; Talbi, Laporte, Touré; Kalulu, Abergel, Ponceau, Le Goff; Faivre, Aiyegun; Kroupi
We say: Nantes 2-2 Lorient
Carrying a three-game unbeaten streak into Saturday’s clash, Nantes will back themselves to avoid defeat on home soil, but Lorient look set to get something from their trip to the Stade de la Beaujoire as they have lost just one of their five matches this season.
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Top tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data
