Two sides in need of a pick-me-up go head to head when Reims and Lille square off at the Stade Auguste Delaune in round 33 of the French Ligue 1 on Wednesday.
The defending champions are currently on a run of one win in six games across all competitions, while the hosts have failed to taste victory in any of their last four outings.
Match preview
© Reuters
Reims were denied their first win in the month of April last Sunday when they were held to an uneventful goalless draw by a Montpellier at the Stade de la Mosson.
Prior to that, Oscar Garcia's men had lost each of their last two outings, conceding four and scoring once in that time, while their winless run stretched back to the 1-0 victory over Angers on April 3.
Reims now square off against a floundering Lille side, who have won each of the last three meetings between the sides and will also be seeking to arrest a slump in form.
With 37 points from 32 games, the Red and Whites are currently 13th in the Ligue 1 standings, one place above last season's finish with six games left to play.
© Reuters
Elsewhere, Lille continue to sweat over impressive results as they were on the receiving end of a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Lens in last Saturday's thriller at the Stade Pierre Mauroy.
Przemyslaw Frankowski and Arnaud Kalimuendo found the target to put the visitors on course for a third consecutive victory over Les Dogues before Xeka cut the deficit on the stroke of half time.
Lille have now failed to taste victory in any of their last three games, picking up two points from a possible nine since a 1-0 victory over Nantes at the Stade de la Beaujoire on March 19.
With 48 points from 32 games, Jocelyn Gourvennec's side find themselves in ninth place in the league standings, but could rise as high as seventh with all three points on Wednesday.
On the back of a historic charge to the Ligue 1 crown last season, Lille's underwhelming title defence has been owing to their lack of sting up top as they hold the worst attacking record of the top 14 teams in the table with 40 goals scored.
- D
- W
- D
- L
- L
- D
- W
- D
- W
- D
- D
- L
- D
- L
- W
- D
- D
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Reims will take to the pitch without the services of French teenager Hugo Ekitike, who picked up a hamstring injury 15 minutes into the game against Brest back in February.
He is joined on the club's injury table by Greek forward Anastasios Donis, who is set to sit out his fourth game on the trot after picking up an ankle problem.
El Bilal Toure will also play no part for the hosts after the 20-year-old forward came off with a muscle injury midway through the game against Bordeaux on February 2.
As for Lille, Gourvennec remains unable to call upon key defender Sven Botman, who has been sidelined since picking up a muscle problem in March's Champions League tie versus Chelsea.
While goalkeeper Ivo Grbic is out of contention through a collarbone injury, Gabriel Gudmundsson adds to Lille's defensive woes following a game-ending at the weekend.
Should Gudmundsson fail to shake off his injury, Croatian left-back Domagoj Bradaric should come into the fold for what will be just his second starting appearance of the season.
In attack, Jonathan David, who is currently the club's top scorer with 13 goals this season, has failed to find the target in nine straight games for club and country and will be desperate to end this dry spell.
We expect the Canadian to team up with veteran forward Burak Yilmaz, who is now available for selection after missing the game against Lens through a one-match suspension for crossing the yellow card threshold.
Reims possible starting lineup:
Rajkovic; Busi, Faes, Munetsi; Foket, Cajuste, Lopy, Matusiwa, Konan; Van Bergen, Kebbal
Lille possible starting lineup:
Jardim; Celik, Fonte, Djalo, Bradaric; Sanches, Andre, Xeka, Bamba; David, Yilmaz
We say: Reims 0-2 Lille
While Lille have struggled to get going, they will be licking their lips as they go up against a floundering Reims side, who have picked up just four wins from 18 home games this season. Gourvennec's men have endured a generally underwhelming title defence so far, but we are tipping them to return to winning ways on Wednesday.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
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 Lille win with a probability of 44.02%. A win for Reims had a probability of 29.34% and a draw had a probability of 26.6%.
The most likely scoreline for a Lille win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.55%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.86%) and 0-2 (8.11%). The likeliest Reims win was 1-0 (9.01%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.63%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 6.9% likelihood.
