Bordeaux take on Angers in Ligue 1 on Sunday with the two sides separated by a single point in the top half of the table.
Bordeaux won the reverse fixture 2-0 back in August.
Match preview
© Reuters
Having been in 12th place prior to the curtailment of all French football due to the outbreak of COVID-19 last season, Jean-Louis Gasset will be more than content with Bordeaux currently occupying a top-half position in the table.
After a disappointing 3-1 defeat at home to struggling Reims to close out 2020, Bordeaux have remained unbeaten in their three matches since returning after the winter break, with Sunday's impressive 3-0 win at Nice their second successive victory.
Indeed, Gasset's side restricted the hosts to only one shot on target across the 90 minutes, with second-half strikes from Hwang Ui-jo, Paul Baysse and Toma Basic emphatically putting another three points on the board.
A third successive win on Sunday would see them climb above Angers in the table into the top eight, which would represent real progress after two consecutive seasons of finishing in the bottom half.
© Reuters
Angers, meanwhile, continue to establish themselves as a steady Ligue 1 outfit, with Stephane Moulin's side currently competing in France's top flight for the sixth successive season.
Understandably for a club of their size, though, Angers are struggling to take the next step, having lost to Monaco and PSG in their last two matches.
Moulin would have been proud of his players' efforts in the 1-0 defeat to the reigning champions on Saturday, though, with PSG relying on a late winner from an unlikely source in the shape of Layvin Kurzawa, with Mauricio Pochettino's side only recording three shots on target all match.
Should Angers bounce back at Bordeaux and gain revenge for their defeat to Gasset's side early in the campaign with a win, however, there is a chance Moulin's team can finish the weekend in the heady heights of sixth position.
Bordeaux Ligue 1 form: LWLDWW
Angers Ligue 1 form: LDWWLL
Team News
© Reuters
Bordeaux are likely to be without Hatem Ben Arfa, Mehdi Zerkane and Otavio due to injury.
Otavio aside, Gasset is unlikely to make any changes to the side which performed so impressively in the win at Nice last weekend.
Angers, meanwhile, could be without Thomas Mangani and Sofiane Boufal due to injury, with Thomas Mangani also doubtful due to illness.
Enzo Ebosse is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
Bordeaux possible starting lineup:
Costil; Sabaly, Baysse, Koscielny, Benito; Lees-Melou, Adli, Basic; Oudin, Hwang, Kalu
Angers possible starting lineup:
Bernardoni; Manceau, Traore, Thomas, Doumbia; Capelle, Coulibaly, Amadou, Lage; Fulgini, Diony
We say: Bordeaux 1-0 Angers
We can envisage a closely-fought affair between two evenly matched sides.
The potential loss of former Premier League stars Ben Arfa and Boufal to either side could make the game a less entertaining spectacle, with Bordeaux's superior defence perhaps coming out on top.
Top betting tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Bordeaux win with a probability of 45.9%. A win for Angers had a probability of 27.76% and a draw had a probability of 26.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bordeaux win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.74%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.05%) and 2-0 (8.5%). The likeliest Angers win was 0-1 (8.63%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.49%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Bordeaux would win this match.
Germany
Hungary
Scotland
Switzerland
Albania
Croatia
Italy
Spain
Denmark
England
Serbia
Slovenia
Austria
France
Netherlands
Poland
Belgium
Romania
Slovakia
Ukraine
Czech Republic
Georgia
Portugal
Turkey
