Preview: Angers vs. Strasbourg - prediction, team news, lineups

This game brings two teams with low confidence as the hosts might have a couple of wins under their belt, but they are sat just above the bottom four as well.

Match preview

Angers have had a very inconsistent start to the campaign across their opening nine games with two victories, two draws, and five defeats.

The most recent of those losses took place last weekend against Marseille in a challenging game that resulted in a 3-0 defeat.

That ended a positive period for Angers as they had won consecutive games heading into that one, and they will now be hoping to get straight back to winning this Sunday.

No team has conceded more goals in Ligue 1 at this point than the hosts, and that is an area of concern for the team to place focus on.

This is especially true at home where they have been defensively weaker, which is not ideal heading into this particular fixture.

The visitors are in an equally difficult situation right now as they are second bottom in the league, and they are without a victory so far.

Strasbourg are the only team in Ligue 1 that have not won a match to this point, but they have ended up drawing five of their nine fixtures to this point.

Julien Stephan's men have proven that they are able to be competitive in their matches, without pushing things to earn the full three points.

That is the main reason Strasbourg find themselves in the relegation zone at the moment, but if they are able to secure a win on Sunday then that could change if other results go their way.

However, Strasbourg do head into this fixture on the back of consecutive defeats with the most recent being a 3-1 loss against Rennes.

Angers Ligue 1 form:

L

L

L

W

W

L

Strasbourg Ligue 1 form:

L

D

D

D

L

L

Team News

Nuno Tavares will be an option once again for Angers this weekend after he served his one-match ban last week due to suspension.

However, one player that the club has been missing as of late is Eric Bailly, as the experienced defender has been dealing with a thigh issue as of late.

Strasbourg will be without Gerzino Nyamsi this Sunday because he was sent off in their defeat against Rennes, which will force at least one change at the back.

Karol Fila is someone that could end up being brought into the starting lineup to replace him, with the visitors hoping for a stronger defensive performance this time around.

Angers possible starting lineup:

Fofana; Valery, Amadou, Blazic, Doumbia; Mendy, Bentaleb; Ounahi, Hunou, Boufal; Sima

Strasbourg possible starting lineup:

Sels; Djiku, Fila, Le Marchand; Pierre-Gabriel, Bellegarde, Diarra, Aholou, Lienard; Gameiro, Diallo

We say: Angers 1-1 Strasbourg

Angers head into this match as the favourites to win simply because they are higher in the league table, and have slightly stronger momentum at the moment.

However, Strasbourg have proven that they are able to be competitive in games, and that could lead to another draw for them this time around.

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