Montpellier HSC welcome Bordeaux on Wednesday evening in Ligue 1, looking to build on a solid start that sees them enter the fixture in eighth position.
In contrast, Bordeaux have endured a rocky opening to their season, and occupy 17th place having only accumulated five points in their opening six fixtures.
Match preview
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Montpellier have earned eight points so far this season, and are aiming to continue an impressive run that has seen them finish in 10th position or higher in each of the last four seasons.
Olivier Dall'Oglio took over as head coach in the summer after Michel Der Zakarian left and Montpellier's new boss will be content with the start his side have made.
In their last Ligue 1 outing, Montpellier salvaged a point away to Troyes, who had taken the lead with Yoann Touzghar sliding in to poke home Issa Kabore's precise cross, but Dall'Oglio's side equalised in the 87th minute thanks to Teji Savagnier's fine finish.
La Paillade have collected six of their eight league points at home, courtesy of two victories from their three home games, beating Lorient 3-1 and Saint-Etienne 2-0.
Positively, Montpellier won both Ligue 1 meetings last season against Wednesday's opponents, picking up a 2-0 victory away before winning comfortably in the return fixture thanks to a 3-1 scoreline.
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Former Switzerland boss Vladimir Petkovic has found life tough since returning to club management to take over as Bordeaux head coach, with his side winning only one of their opening six league matches.
As a result, they currently sit one place above the relegation playoff spot and will want to pick up points quickly to move away from danger.
Positively, Les Girondins collected their first three points at the weekend beating Saint-Etienne 2-1, with Hwang Ui-Jo grabbing both goals to help his side to a vital victory.
The cause of Bordeaux's struggles this season can be attributed to a leaky defence that has conceded a massive 13 goals so far - only Metz have conceded the same, and no other team has let in more this term.
Petkovic's team can take comfort from the fact they have picked up four points on the road, and have only suffered one defeat on their travels this term, which may give them confidence to try and win away at Montpellier for the first time since April 2018.
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Team News
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Montpellier will be without the suspended Matheus Thuler who was sent off in the 1-1 draw away to Troyes, so he will serve a one-match suspension on Wednesday.
The hosts are without Ambroise Oyongo, Thibault Tamas and Pedro Mendes who are all absent due to injury.
Mamadou Sakho is nearing a return but has not fully recovered from a thigh problem so the former Liverpool man will not feature in this one.
Bordeaux will not have Paul Baysse available as the defender is recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Additionally, the away side will also be without Josh Maja and Alberth Elis due to back and foot problems respectively.
Following their first victory of the season, Petkovic could name the same starting lineup in a bid to win two consecutive Ligue 1 matches.
Montpellier HSC possible starting lineup:
Omlin; Sambia, Esteve, Cozza, Ristic; Ferri, Chotard, Savanier; Mollet, Mavididi, Germain
Bordeaux possible starting lineup:
Costil; Pembele, Kwateng, Mexer, Gregersen, Mangas; Onana, Otavio, Adli; Hwang, Dilrosun
We say: Montpellier HSC 1-1 Bordeaux
This should be a close encounter, so it could be cagey early on as both teams feel each other out, and though Bordeaux would have built some confidence after their weekend performance, they may be content with a point against a Montpellier side who have won their last two home games.
Top 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 Montpellier HSC win with a probability of 46.71%. A draw had a probability of 26.9% and a win for Bordeaux had a probability of 26.41%.
The most likely scoreline for a Montpellier HSC win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.78%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.02%) and 2-1 (8.94%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.65%), while for a Bordeaux win it was 0-1 (8.96%). The actual scoreline of 3-3 was predicted with a 0.7% likelihood.
