Seeking to pull clear of the relegation zone, Lorient play host to Angers at the Stade du Moustoir on Sunday.
The hosts head into the game on a dire 13-game winless run, while the visitors have lost each of their most recent three games on the spin.
Lorient turned in a performance of the highest quality as they held French champions PSG to a 1-1 draw last time out.
Prior to that, Christophe Pélissier’s men were on a dire eight-game losing streak — a run which saw their Coupe de France campaign come to an end following a 1-0 loss to Stade Rennais.
With 16 points from 19 games, Lorient are currently 18th in the Ligue 1 table, one point below Bordeaux just outside the relegation places.
Meanwhile, Angers were left empty handed once again as they fell to a 4-1 loss against a rampant Montpellier side last time out.
Gérald Baticle’s men have now lost each of their most recent three outings, while picking up one win from their last six.
Angers are currently 12th on the log after picking up 25 points from 19 games so far.
Lorient vs Angers Head-To-Head
Lorient boast a slight upper hand in the history of this fixture, claiming seven wins from the last 19 meetings between the sides. Angers have picked up one fewer win in that time, while six games have ended all square.
Lorient Form Guide: L-L-L-L-D
Angers Form Guide: L-W-L-L-L
Lorient vs Angers Team News
Lorient
The hosts will be without the services of Stephane Diarra and Fabien Lemoine, who have both been sidelined through injuries. Dango Ouattara is currently representing Burkina Faso at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Injured: Stephane Diarra, Fabien Lemoine
Suspended: None
Unavailable: Dango Ouattara
Angers
Bilal Brahimi, Zinedine Ould Khaled, Nabil Bentaleb and Lois Diony are all recuperating from injuries and will miss the game. Sofiane Boufal, Azzedine Ounahi, Enzo Ebosse Africa and Stephane Bahoken are all at the ongoing AFCON.
Injured: Bilal Brahimi, Zinedine Ould Khaled, Nabil Bentaleb, Lois Diony
Suspended: None
Unavailable: Sofiane Boufal, Azzedine Ounahi, Enzo Ebosse Africa, Stephane Bahoken
Lorient vs Angers Predicted XI
Lorient predicted XI (3-5-2): Paul Nardi; Houboulang Mendes, Julien Laporte, Quentin Boisgard; Igor Silva, Stephane Diarra, Laurent Abergel, Enzo Le Fee, Vincent Le Goff; Terem Moffi, Armand Lauriente
Angers Predicted XI (5-3-2): Danijel Petkovic; Souleyman Doumbia, Vincent Manceau, Ismael Traore, Enzo Ebosse, Jimmy Cabot; Angelo Fulgini, Thomas Mangani, Mathias Pereira Lage; Casimir Ninga, Mohamed-Ali Cho
Lorient vs Angers Prediction
Both sides head into the game in poor form and we expect them to take a cautious approach to avoid falling to another defeat. We anticipate a cagey affair with the spoils being shared at the end of the game.
Prediction: Lorient 1-1 Angers