A pair of Ligue 1 sides in early relegation danger will square off on Saturday at Stade Francois-Coty, with Ajaccio trailing Strasbourg by two points in the table.
L'ours have dropped consecutive league fixtures, losing 1-0 away to Auxerre to end October, while Les Coureurs dug themselves out of a 2-0 hole for the second straight match, drawing Marseille 2-2.
Match preview
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As they prepare to play their 500th match in the top flight, the club from Corsica have rarely had much to celebrate in 2022-23, as they sit second from the bottom with just two victories and nine defeats.
Just like their form in Ligue 1 so far this season, Ajaccio have had a hard time winning in the top flight historically, and if they lose this match on Saturday, it will give them a 26.6% win rate among teams with at least 500 games played in this competition, the second-lowest ratio behind only Red Star (26.3%).
Saturday will be their first meeting versus Strasbourg in Ligue 1 since February 2006, with the Corsicans winless in 10 straight matches against them in the top flight as their last victory came in May 1971 (4-0).
Olivier Pantaloni does not have a dependable number nine at his disposal who can regularly find the back of the net, as his side have scored eight goals this season, the fewest in the top-flight.
That is a discouraging statistic for many reasons, one of which is that only 39% of teams (9/23) with eight strikes or fewer at this stage of the campaign have been able to stave off Ligue 1 relegation this century.
They have managed to stick around in numerous domestic encounters this season by hanging back in a defence-first approach, tied for the fewest goals allowed (20) among the teams currently in the bottom half of the table, losing five matches by a single goal.
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The 2021-22 campaign was exceptional for Julien Stephan and Strasbourg, who earned 63 points, their highest total in Ligue 1.
Fast-forward to the following season and the Alsatians find themselves with just 10 points after 13 league games, their lowest total at this stage of the competition since returning into the top flight in 2017-18.
In their draw versus Marseille last Saturday, they became the only team in the top-flight this season to trail by at least two goals more than once and avoid defeat, drawing Toulouse 2-2 in their previous road fixture.
Since their return to Ligue 1 a few years ago, Le Racing have not fared well against newly promoted sides away from home, winning only twice in 12 road matches.
While we are not seeing them earn many positive results thus far, they have been more clinical in the final third of late, scoring in four of their five games played last month and notching seven goals in their previous four fixtures.
Their only campaign victory came away from home last month when they defeated Angers 3-2, while they have conceded a goal or fewer in three road matches this season.
Team News
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Benjamin Leroy, who was named the top goalkeeper in Ligue 2 last season, has conceded in all but one home fixture for Ajaccio in 2022-23, while their previous goal scored on home soil came courtesy of Cedric Avinel at the start of October.
They made one change to their starting 11 against Auxerre as Clement Vidal began in defence, replacing Oumar Gonzalez.
Yoann Touzghar continues to deal with an ankle injury, while Avinel will not be available for this encounter after being shown a red card last weekend.
For a second successive encounter, Strasbourg were rescued by goals from Lebo Mothiba and Kevin Gameiro a week ago, while Matz Sels made three stops to move into third among Ligue 1 goalkeepers with 47 saves on the season.
Their top goalscorer from their previous domestic campaign, Ludovic Ajorque, returned to the lineup for the first time since September 11, replacing Jean-Eudes Aholou in the second half against Marseille, while Lucas Perrin, Ronael Pierre-Gabriel and Thomas Delaine were inserted into the starting 11.
Nordine Kandil and Alexander Djiku are out until mid-November with foot and hamstring issues, respectively, while Karol Fila could be ready to return from his groin injury.
Ajaccio possible starting lineup:
Leroy; Kone, Gonzalez, Vidal, Youssouf; Mangani, Nouri, Marchetti, Bayala; El Idrissy, Hamouma
Strasbourg possible starting lineup:
Sels; Nyamsi, Perrin, Le Marchand; Lienard, Thomasson, Aholou, Bellegarde, Delaine; Gameiro, Ajorque
We say: Ajaccio 0-2 Strasbourg
Ajaccio do not have the quality to trouble a goalkeeper with the calibre of Sels, while the return of Ajorque to the Strasbourg attack should provide the visitors with a spark this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
