Preview: Ajaccio vs. Montpellier HSC - prediction, team news, lineups

L'ours find themselves 18th but just a single point adrift of safety, while their visitors have quickly climbed away from the bottom four thanks to a dramatic upturn in form.

Match preview

Following their promotion from France's second tier last season, Ajaccio come into the weekend in 18th spot in Ligue 1, although they are far from condemned to relegation with just a one-point gap to 16th-placed Strasbourg with 12 games of the campaign left to play.

L'ours' survival hopes have certainly not been helped by their form in recent months, though, as they have now added just six points to their tally in the last 10 league outings, firstly breaking a four-match losing run with a crucial 2-1 victory away at Angers, before they went on to suffer three further defeats on the bounce, conceding eight goals and failing to score in the process.

With the need for a victory to avoid being cut adrift, Olivier Pantaloni's side would then host Troyes, and after going into the interval a goal down, they drew level through Youcef Belaili's penalty on the hour mark and eventually took all three points with Mounaim El Idrissy netting the decisive goal soon after.

That saw L'ours move within touching distance of escaping the bottom four, having moved onto 21 points from 25 outings, but they would then face the tough test of a trip to in-form Reims last weekend, and after looking set to come away with a creditable point from a goalless draw, they were agonisingly sent home empty-handed as Jens Cajuste hit the only goal of the game for the hosts deep into injury time.

Such a result saw Ajaccio drop a point behind Auxerre inside the drop zone, although they do remain just one point worse off than 16th-placed Strasbourg too, and Pantaloni's men will be encouraged by the fact that a victory at the weekend could see them leap out of the bottom four and would certainly be three crucial points in the fight for survival.

They face a particularly difficult test, though, as Montpellier arrive in fine form having quickly distanced themselves from the tight bottom end of Ligue 1 in recent weeks.

After 22 games of the campaign, La Paillade certainly did find themselves in real trouble, as they sat on just 20 points, but following the appointment of Michel Der Zakarian as manager in early February, they have turned their fortunes in eye-catching fashion.

In his first game at the helm, Montpellier bounced back from consecutive defeats with a 3-0 beating of Brest, before making it back-to-back three-point hauls with a 1-0 victory at Troyes thanks to Wahbi Khazri's injury-time winner.

Der Zakarian's men then continued an unbeaten run with a commendable draw at home to fourth-placed Lens, before making it 10 points from his four matches last weekend as they met basement side Angers and dished out a 5-0 thrashing, with Teji Savanier netting a brace alongside goals from Khazri, Faitout Maouassa and Elye Wahi.

Still unbeaten since the change in management early last month, La Paillade have quickly managed to climb to 13th spot in Ligue 1, and now with an eight-point lead over the bottom four going into the final 12 matches of the campaign, they will look to further improve their cushion and climb closer to the top half with a fourth win in a five-match span.

Ajaccio Ligue 1 form:

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L

L

L

W

L

Montpellier HSC Ligue 1 form:

L

L

W

W

D

W

Team News

Ajaccio could come into Sunday's game with an unchanged lineup from their trip to Reims after a committed display, with the back four of Mohamed Youssouf, Clement Vidal, Cedric Avinel and Mickael Alphonse all expected to keep their places.

Winger Youcef Belaili should continue to play an important role in the attack, having contributed six goals and three assists in 14 Ligue 1 appearances since arriving from Brest in September.

He will offer support to the strike force of Romain Hamouma and Mounaim El Idrissy, while Mathieu Coutadeur and Mickael Barreto will feature from the outset in the engine room.

Montpellier could also be unchanged on Sunday, given their eye-catching upturn in form and dominant display last weekend, with Der Zakarian bound to stick with his preferred 4-2-3-1 setup.

Wahbi Khazri should continue to lead the line after his goal last time out, although Elye Wahi is pushing for a return after hitting his ninth of the campaign off the bench in that match, while Teji Savanier has netted a team-high tally of 10 in 21 appearances in France's top flight this season and will be joined by Arnaud Nordin and Faitout Maouassa in a supporting trio behind whichever lone front man is preferred.

Christopher Jullien and Boubakar Kouyate will partner up in the middle of the defence, with additional protection provided by Jordan Ferri and Joris Chotard at the base of midfield.

Ajaccio possible starting lineup:

Leroy; Youssouf, Vidal, Avinel, Alphonse; Bayala, Barreto, Coutadeur, Belaili; El Idrissy, Hamouma

Montpellier HSC possible starting lineup:

Lecomte; Sacko, Jullien, Kouyate, Sylla; Ferri, Chotard; Nordin, Savanier, Maouassa; Khazri

We say: Ajaccio 0-2 Montpellier HSC

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