Sunday sees Reims face off against Nantes in a Ligue 1 fixture at the Stade Auguste-Delaune.
Reims currently sit in 15th place in the table with just one win in their first seven games, while Nantes have done well thus far and are in 8th.
So can Reims kickstart their campaign with a win here, or will Nantes’ good form continue with another positive result?
Reims have not done so well for themselves thus far this season, picking up just one win. However, their form has not been as bad as their results have suggested. Their defeats have come against champions Lille and Paris Saint-Germain, and they’ve picked up four draws thus far.
Goals have been hard for them to come by though, suggesting that they are missing last season’s top scorer Boulaye Dia, who is now at Villarreal.
Nantes meanwhile looked like they were beginning to slide into trouble again after losing three games in a row between late August and early September.
However, since then they’ve defeated Angers and Brest, scoring seven goals across those two games while conceding just two.
With the form Randal Kolo Muani, Moses Simon and Ludovic Blas are currently in, Nantes have an attack that could hurt any team in Ligue 1.
Reims vs Nantes Head-to-Head
Last season’s fixtures between these sides went in favor of Reims, who won both. In fact, Nantes have won just one of their last six games against Reims dating back to 2016. Historically, these two teams have squared off 19 times with Reims winning seven times to Nantes' six victories. Six matches have ended in a draw.
Reims form guide: L-D-W-L-D
Nantes form guide: W-W-L-L-L
Reims vs Nantes Team News
Reims
Reims have a number of players doubtful for this game, although four of them are expected back by the end of the month. Arber Zeneli, Mathieu Cafaro, El Bilal Toure, Moussa Doumbia, Fraser Hornby and Valon Berisha are all out while Mitchell van Bergen is a doubt.
Injured: Arber Zeneli, Mathieu Cafaro, El Bilal Toure, Moussa Doumbia, Fraser Hornby, Valon Berisha
Doubtful: Mitchell van Bergen
Suspended: None
Nantes
Former Manchester United man Fabio is expected to miss out on this game, while Anthony Limbombe is also a doubt.
Injured: Fabio
Doubtful: Anthony Limbombe
Suspended: None
Reims vs Nantes Predicted XI
Reims predicted XI (5-3-2): Predrag Rajkovic, Thomas Foket, Andreaw Gravillon, Wout Faes, Yunis Abdelhamid, Ghislain Konan, Moreto Cassama, Azor Matusiwa, Marshall Munetsi, Hugo Ekitike, Nathanael Mbuku
Nantes predicted XI (4-4-1-1): Alban Lafont, Sebastien Corchia, Jean-Charles Castelletto, Nicolas Pallois, Charles Traore, Ludovic Blas, Andrei Girotto, Pedro Chirivella, Moses Simon, Randal Kolo Muani, Kalifa Coulibaly
Reims vs Nantes Prediction
Despite Reims’ poor form in comparison to Nantes’ recently, this should still be a close game to call between two evenly matched sides.
With that said, Nantes have so much momentum following their big wins over Angers and Brest, and their attackers are on fire right now, meaning they could be tricky for Reims to stop.
So with this considered, an away win is the prediction here.
Prediction: Reims 1-2 Nantes