Nimes host Dijon in Ligue 1 on Wednesday with both sides coming into the clash inside the relegation zone.
The hosts can move outside of the bottom three by beating their opponents, with Dijon able to leapfrog their opponents into 18th place in the table should they prevail as victors.
Match preview
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Having been 18th last season prior to the curtailment of all French football due to the coronavirus pandemic, Nimes are arguably fortunate to be competing in Ligue 1 this season.
With Amiens and Toulouse demoted to the second tier, Les Crocodiles were exempted from relegation due to only being three points from safety at the time the season was brought to a premature close.
The Nimes board chose to sack Jerome Arpinon and bring in Bernard Blaquart ahead of the new campaign, but a 19% win rate represents a downturn in form compared to last season.
Indeed, Arpinon's side have failed to win any of their last five matches, although Sunday's 2-2 draw at Saint-Etienne was a respectable result which leaves them with a fighting chance of climbing out of the relegation zone ahead of the winter break.
Dijon, meanwhile, have been rock bottom for most of the campaign, winning just one of their 16 matches so far this season.
Having been only three points ahead of Nimes when last season was drawn to a premature close, it is perhaps little surprise to see these two sides battling to avoid relegation once again.
David Linares, who made 158 league appearances for the club between 2005 and 2010, was brought in to replace Stephane Jobard as manager last month, with an almost instant response after Linares guided his side to their first win of the season at Nice in only his second game in charge.
However, back-to-back home defeats without scoring against tough opposition in Lille and Monaco have highlighted the lack of quality at the club, with a win against Nimes desperately required to avoid falling too far behind the safety zone at Christmas.
Nimes Ligue 1 form: WLLLLD
Dijon Ligue 1 form: LWDDLL
Team News
Nimes are missing several players through injury, with Loick Landre, Yassine Benrahou, Andres Cubas, Lucas Deaux, Pablo Martinez, Anthony Briancon, Birger Meling, Clement Depres and Antoine Valerio all unlikely to feature against Dijon.
Blaquart may look to make a few changes given the quick turnaround between fixtures, with Renaud Ripart in line for a start.
Dijon, meanwhile, have four players ruled out due to injury, with Roger Assale, Ahmad Ngouyamsa, Wesley Lautoa and Yassine Benzia all recovering.
Like his counterpart, Linares may be considering freshening things up after two successive defeats, with top goalscorer Mama Balde an option after returning from injury from the substitutes' bench against Monaco.
Nimes possible starting lineup:
Reynet; Alakouch, Guessoum, Miguel, Paquiez; Duljevic, Sarr, Ahlinvi; Ferhart, Ripart, Eliasson
Dijon possible starting lineup:
Racioppi; Boey, Manga, Panzo, Ngonda; Ebimbe, Ndong; Dobre, Celina, Chouiar; Balde
We say: Nimes 1-1 Dijon
Dijon cannot afford to lose this match, but having picked up under Linares, we expect them to avoid defeat and being cut adrift at the bottom of the table.
The return of Balde in attack should inspire them, with former Swansea City midfielder Bersant Celina likely to be grateful to have a focal point to play into.
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 Nimes win with a probability of 43.41%. A win for Dijon had a probability of 29.05% and a draw had a probability of 27.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Nimes win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.52%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.6%) and 2-0 (8.32%). The likeliest Dijon win was 0-1 (9.74%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.93%). The actual scoreline of 1-3 was predicted with a 2.3% likelihood.
