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Sunday sees Nantes face off against Troyes in a Ligue 1 encounter at the Stade de la Beaujoire.
Nantes are currently in 10th place in the table following a solid start to their campaign, while newly-promoted Troyes are languishing in 17th.
So can Troyes pick up their second win of the season, or will Nantes condemn them to further problems?
After narrowly avoiding the drop last season, Nantes have gotten off to a decent start in the 2021-22 season. They’ve won three of their opening eight games, but are coming off a loss last weekend at the hands of Reims that saw a two-game winning run snapped.
Those two games were impressive, though, as they scored a total of seven whilst only conceding two – and that’s the form they’ll look to recapture here.
Troyes, meanwhile, has won just one match since returning to Ligue 1 this season. The win came against Metz on September 12th.
Since then, they’ve drawn twice and lost to Lyon, pushing them down to 17th place in the table.
Goals are clearly the biggest worry for ESTAC right now. Laurent Batlles’ men have scored just eight, with only bottom club Saint-Etienne managing fewer.
Nantes vs Troyes Head-to-Head
The two teams have met 24 times in the past across all competitions. Nantes have the better record with 13 wins while Troyes have seven wins to their name. Four games have ended in a draw.
Interestingly, Nantes have won four of their last six meetings with Troyes, with the visitors’ last win over their hosts this weekend coming back in 2011.
Nantes form guide: L-W-W-L-L
Troyes form guide: D-L-D-W-L
Nantes vs Troyes Team News
Nantes
Former Manchester United man Fabio is a doubt for Nantes, as is midfielder Anthony Limbombe.
Injured: None
Doubtful: Fabio, Anthony Limbombe
Suspended: None
Troyes
Troyes have two players suspended for this game in Giulian Biancone and Jimmy Giraudon. Adil Rami, Yasser Larouci and Tanguy Zoukrou are set to miss the game due to injury while Karim Azamoum is out for the season with a cruciate ligament rupture.
Injured: Adil Rami, Karim Azamoum, Yasser Larouci, Tanguy Zoukrou
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Giulian Biancone, Jimmy Giraudon
Nantes vs Troyes Predicted XI
Nantes predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Alban Lafont, Sebastien Corchia, Jean-Charles Castelletto, Nicolas Pallois, Charles Traore, Wylan Cyprien, Pedro Chirivella, Ludovic Blas, Randal Kolo Muani, Moses Simon, Kalifa Coulibaly
Troyes predicted XI (5-4-1): Gauthier Gallon, Issa Kabore, Philippe Sandler, Yoann Salmier, Oualid El Hajjam, Youssouf Kone, Mama Balde, Rominigue Kouame, Xavier Chavalerin, Gerson Rodrigues, Yoann Touzghar
Nantes vs Troyes Prediction
Troyes are likely to struggle in this game simply due to their lack of firepower. Nantes don’t have the best defense in Ligue 1, but they’ll still be hopeful of keeping Troyes’ attack quiet here.
The same cannot be said for the other way, as Nantes have a more than potent attack and will be confident of breaking the visitors’ defense – meaning a home win seems likely here.
Prediction: Nantes 2-0 Troyes
