Two sides without a point on the board in the 2020-21 Ligue 1 campaign will face off at the Stade Gaston-Gerard on Sunday as Dijon play host to fellow strugglers Brest.
Dijon have lost to Angers and Lyon thus far, while Brest are currently bottom of the table following defeats to Nimes and Marseille early on in the season.
Match preview
© Reuters
While Dijon were unfortunate to walk away from their opening-weekend encounter with Angers with nothing to show for their efforts, Stephane Jobard's men were simply no match for the attacking prowess of Lyon.
Barcelona-linked Memphis Depay netted a hat-trick - including two penalties - and Dijon ultimately succumbed to a 4-1 defeat against last season's Champions League semi-finalists in their first away match of the campaign.
As well as Brest, Strasbourg are the only other side who have no points on the board after two games of the new season, and Dijon will be fighting an uphill battle to avoid the drop should they carry on in the same vein.
A meeting with bottom-of-the-table Brest represents a prime opportunity for Jobard's men to kickstart their season, and Dijon's home form is actually very encouraging - their loss to Angers on the opening weekend was their first league defeat at home for nearly a year.
Dijon had strung together a 12-game unbeaten streak at the Stade Gaston-Gerard prior to the visit of Angers - a run which included a 3-0 triumph over Brest back in February.
© Reuters
As far as Brest are concerned, the league's basement side have now conceded seven goals in their opening two matches as they bid to avoid the drop once again.
Brest suffered a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Nimes in their first game back, and even though Olivier Dall'Oglio's side gave Marseille a brilliant run for their money in the second round of fixtures, Brest were eventually defeated 3-2 by the Ligue 1 giants.
However, there is no need for the Brest faithful to be discouraged by the early-season rankings - Dall'Oglio's men still have plenty of time to turn their fortunes around and try to secure a respectable finish in the French top flight.
Les Pirates occupied 14th spot when the 2019-20 season was curtailed - 11 points clear of the bottom two - but Brest now only have one win to show from their last nine Ligue 1 outings.
Despite suffering a 3-0 defeat to Dijon last time out, Brest did manage to prevail 2-0 at home last October, with their other three victories against Jobard's men since 2005 coming when the two clubs played in the second tier.
Dijon Ligue 1 form: LL
Brest Ligue 1 form: LL
Team News
© Reuters
Dijon are still without Senou Coulibaly and Mama Balde, while Julio Tavares has left the club to join the Saudi league.
Jobard's men have signed Roger Assale from BSC Young Boys to replace their former captain, but the striker will not be expected to feature so soon after joining, meaning Aurelien Scheidler is set to keep his place up top.
Anibal Chala will be holding out for a recall on left-hand side of defence after being named amongst the substitutes for the defeat to Lyon.
With regards to Brest, Denys Bain remains a long-term absentee with a cruciate ligament rupture, while Dall'Oglio has also revealed that winger Franck Honorat is struggling with an adductor problem.
Centre-back Brendan Chardonnet returns from suspension, while striker Steve Mounie has recently crossed the channel to join Brest from Huddersfield Town.
Dijon possible starting lineup:
Gomis; Chafik, Manga, Panzo, Chala; Cheikh, Ndong, Amalfitano; Ebimbe, Scheidler, Chouiar
Brest possible starting lineup:
Larsonneur; Pierre-Gabriel, Herelle, Duverne, Perraud; Diallo, Belkebla; Tavares, Charbonnier, Faivre; Cardona
We say: Dijon 2-2 Brest
Both clubs should feel capable of walking away from this encounter with all three points and will be equally desperate to avoid recording a third loss on the bounce early on in the campaign. However, given the competitive nature of this clash, we expect the two sides to cancel each other out and are backing a high-scoring draw this Sunday.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a home win or draw in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home/Draw:data
Ben Knapton
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 Dijon win with a probability of 39.93%. A win for Brest had a probability of 32.19% and a draw had a probability of 27.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Dijon win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.94%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.23%) and 2-0 (7.5%). The likeliest Brest win was 0-1 (10.43%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.1%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 5.7% likelihood.
