Preview: Reims vs. Lorient - prediction, team news, lineups

An injury-time equaliser on Sunday enabled Reims to draw Paris Saint-Germain 1-1, while Lorient moved to within two points of Rennes for a spot in Europe, defeating them 2-1 on Friday.

Match preview

They left it late, but les rouges et blancs managed to salvage a point this past weekend as they are unbeaten domestically since William Still replaced Oscar Garcia as manager.

That draw extended their unbeaten run in the league to a dozen matches, one shy of their next longest streak set in March 2019.

Since the 30-year-old Belgian took charge, we have seen these players be more aggressive and push the pace when on the ball, and that approach has paid off as they currently sit 11th in the table, only three points behind Clermont for eighth.

Although they have created their share of scoring opportunities, it has taken them a while to make all of that pressure pay off, with Reims scoring six equalising or winning goals this season with fewer than 15 minutes remaining.

They have points in five consecutive domestic outings in the champagne region, posting three clean sheets over that stretch, including a 0-0 draw in its previous home encounter versus Nice.

Reims have not lost a Ligue 1 encounter when conceding the opening goal since September when they gave up three in the second half at home to Monaco, losing 3-0.

On Friday, Lorient returned to what made them successful throughout September, scoring early and hanging back to defend.

That approach enabled them to win all four of their league fixtures in September, and against Rennes last Friday, they got on the scoresheet twice after 31 minutes and were able to hold down the fort despite only having 33% of the possession.

Les Merlus are up to 35 points after 20 domestic fixtures, their highest tally ever at this stage of a league season, while they have already won 10 times in Ligue 1, something which took Regis Le Bris's men until Matchday 35 to accomplish in 2021-22.

Their victory on Friday ended a five-match winless run for them at home in this competition, while on the road, le FCL have earned at least a point in six of its previous seven encounters, losing their last one, 3-1 at Marseille.

Three of the five Lorient victories away from home this season have come against teams currently in the relegation zone (Ajaccio, Auxerre and Angers).

Le FCL are unbeaten in their last three domestic encounters versus Reims at Stade Auguste-Delaune, drawing them 0-0 in their previous visit last season.

Reims Ligue 1 form:

D

W

D

W

D

D

Reims form (all competitions):

W

D

W

D

W

D

Lorient Ligue 1 form:

D

L

W

D

L

W

Lorient form (all competitions):

L

W

D

L

W

W

Team News

Arsenal loanee Folarin Balogun continues to be in splendid form, scoring his 11th of the campaign to help Reims draw the league leaders on Sunday, Yehvann Diouf has only conceded once in his last three domestic affairs at home, while Junya Ito is searching for his first in this competition, since firing home the winner in a 2-1 win over Auxerre last October.

Last season Reims got a goal from Arber Zeneli and one from former player El Bilal Toure to beat Lorient 2-1 away from home, while they drew them 0-0 earlier this season, just like they did at home back in 2021-22.

Nathanael Mbuku could return by early February from his unknown issue, while Noah Holm should be back by the middle of next month after previously suffering a knee injury.

Montassar Talbi scored his first of the campaign on Friday for les Merlus, Theo Le Bris, the nephew of manager Regis notched the winner, Terem Moffi failed to find the back of the net for the first time in three games and Romain Faivre joined the team last week, on loan from Lyon.

Vito Mannone picked up his first victory at home on Friday since early October, Enzo Le Fee is without a goal in his last two games, while the team is missing a quality playmaker following the departure of Dango Ouattara to Bournemouth in the English Premier League with the 20-year-old registering five assists during his time with le FCL.

Lorient made three changes to its starting 11 on Friday compared to the squad that we saw begin their previous league fixture versus Marseille as Le Bris, Stephane Diarra and Ibrahima Kone replaced Ouattara, Yoann Cathline and Chrislain Matsima.

Reims possible starting lineup:

Diouf; De Smet, Abdelhamid, Agbadou, Foket; Cajuste, Matusiwa; Flips, Zeneli, Ito; Balogun

Lorient possible starting lineup:

Mannone; Kalulu, Laporte, Talbi, Le Goff; Innocent, Ponceau, Le Fee; Faivre; Kone, Moffi

We say: Reims 1-1 Lorient

Both teams are in good form at the moment, while each depend heavily on their respective star strikers to claim points.

There is little to choose between these sides as they are both well-organised and have shown plenty of poise and discipline in tense moments this season.

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