Sunday sees Nantes take on Reims in a Ligue 1 game at the Stade de la Beaujoire.
Nantes are currently in 10th position in the league table, while Reims are slightly lower in 14th, although just five points separate them.
Can Nantes continue their strong campaign, or will Reims close the gap on their opponents this weekend?
Nantes vs Reims Head-to-Head
After a disastrous 2020-21 campaign, Nantes have improved much during the current season, and nine wins from their first 23 games have them firmly entrenched in the mid-table area.
However, after a three-game winning streak in December, Nantes have found things trickier since the beginning of 2021.
They have now won just one of their last four league games – a 4-2 victory over Lorient on January 23 – and most recently fell at the hands of Strasbourg.
Nantes have moved into the semi-finals of the Coupe de France, though – giving them a solid outside chance of lifting a trophy at the end of the season.
Reims, meanwhile, broke a four-match winless run last weekend by hammering struggling Bordeaux 5-0. It was their best win of the campaign thus far.
Oscar Garcia’s side have only won six of their 23 games thus far, but their solid defense has meant that they’ve never dropped into proper trouble.
Indeed, Reims have conceded just 27 goals thus far – less than eight of the 13 sides that sit above them in the table.
The last time these sides met saw Reims run out 3-1 winners, and in fact, Nantes have beaten them just once in their past six meetings.
Nantes form guide: L-W-W-L-W
Reims form guide: D-L-L-L-W
Nantes vs Reims Team News
Nantes
Nantes should have a fully-fit squad for this match as the players who were away at the AFCON should have returned to the club.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Reims
Reims still have some major injury concerns going into this game, with no fewer than eight players looking likely to miss out here.
Injured: Thomas Foket, El Bilal Toure, Moreto Cassama, Jens Cajuste, Andreaw Gravillon, Moussa Doumbia, Valon Berisha, Arber Zeneli
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Nantes vs Reims Predicted XI
Nantes predicted XI (5-4-1): Alban Lafont, Fabio, Jean-Charles Castelletto, Andrei Girotto, Nicolas Pallois, Quentin Merlin, Randal Kolo Muani, Wylan Cyprien, Pedro Chirivella, Moses Simon, Ludovic Blas
Reims predicted XI (4-4-2): Predrag Rajkovic, Maxime Busi, Wout Faes, Yunis Abdelhamid, Ghislain Konan, Bradley Locko, Azor Matusiwa, Marshall Munetsi, Mitchell van Bergen, Nathanael Mbuku, Hugo Ekitike
Nantes vs Reims Prediction
This is a tricky one to call as Reims have so many first-team players out, but they have definitely been in better form than their hosts and are coming off a huge win over Bordeaux.
Nantes should have the ability to cause them problems, as they have a full strength squad to call upon, but Reims will bring so much momentum in that they might pull through anyway.
Expect a tight away win here.
Prediction: Nantes 0-1 Reims