Aiming to make it three league wins on the bounce and climb into the top five of the Ligue 1 table, Reims will welcome Nantes to the Stade Auguste-Delaune II on Sunday.
The hosts trail fifth-placed Lille by two points, while their visitors sit 13th on the back of four straight top-flight defeats.
Match preview
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Reims return to Ligue 1 action at the weekend aiming to extend a positive run of form and build on an impressive first half to the campaign under the management of Will Still.
Following an 11th-placed finish in the French top flight last time around, they currently sit sixth after 18 games with 29 points on the board, having managed nine victories while suffering seven defeats.
Four of those losses came in a five-match span between mid-November and mid-December, seeing Les Rouges et Blancs fall away from the leading pack, but they have bounced back in impressive fashion since, firstly returning to winning ways before Christmas with a 1-0 triumph over Le Havre thanks to Keito Nakamura's goal.
Then following a 3-0 Coupe de France triumph over Dinan Lehon, they returned to Ligue 1 action in a tough trip to Monaco and took three more points from a 3-1 victory, as Teddy Teuma and Reda Khadra scored either side of the interval before Azor Matusiwa put the game out of sight in injury time.
Having again been in Coupe de France over the weekend, dropping out in disappointing fashion after a penalty shootout against third-tier Sochaux, Reims now have their full focus on Ligue 1 and will set out to move fifth on Sunday with a third straight league win.
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Their visitors, meanwhile, make the trip aiming to arrest a slump in their form, having quickly dropped down the table into an unenviable position in recent weeks.
After finishing a single point above the drop zone to avoid relegation last time around, Nantes again set out to maintain their top-flight status this term, and they were able to make a relatively pleasing start, putting 18 points on the board in their first 14 matches.
Indeed, they moved onto that tally with a victory in their first league match under the management of Jocelyn Gourvennec in mid-November, taking up a secure mid-table position in the process, but they have since hit a concerning dip in form, falling to defeats in each of their last four attempts, firstly suffering losses at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, Brest and Lyon to round off 2023.
After seeing off Pau in the Coupe de France round of 64, Gourvennec's side returned to Ligue 1 action for the first time this year at home to Clermont in mid-January, but they again came away empty-handed, despite the game being tied at a goal apiece heading into the dying embers thanks to Florent Mollet's leveller, as Shamar Nicholson went on to snatch all three points for their visitors with an 89th-minute winner.
Now on the back of a disappointing Coupe de France defeat to second-tier Stade Laval to compound their woes, Nantes find themselves 13th and just two points above the bottom four, and they will be desperate to arrest the slide and increase their cushion with a much-needed return to winning ways in a tough test on Sunday.
Team News
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Reims continue to deal with a long list of enforced absences on Sunday, with Ibrahim Diakite, Oumar Diakite, Yunis Abdelhamid and Amir Richardson away on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations, while Junya Ito and Keito Nakamura are with Japan at the Asian Cup and Maxime Busi remains sidelined by an injury.
Will Still will likely field the same starting XI from their impressive win away at Monaco last time out in Ligue 1, with Reda Khadra bound to again lead the line after scoring his first goal for the club last time out, while Mamadou Diakhon and Mohamed Daramy will continue to join him up top in a 4-3-3 setup in Ito's absence.
Azor Matusiwa and Teddy Teuma will offer further attacking support from midfield, having both got on the scoresheet against Monaco, while Joseph Okumu and Emmanuel Agbadou will continue their partnership at the heart of the back four.
Nantes are not short of selection concerns of their own, with key men Samuel Moutoussamy, Moses Simon, Jean-Charles Castelletto and Mostafa Mohamed away at the Africa Cup of Nations, while Ronael Pierre-Gabriel, Ignatius Ganago and Bastien Meupiyou remain confined to the treatment room.
In the absence of Mohamed and Simon, and with new Sheffield United loanee Benie Traore serving a suspension for a red card shown in their defeat to Clermont, plenty of attacking responsibility will fall on Lyon loanee Tino Kadewere, who has notched up two goals in his first three appearances for the club, and Kader Bamba and Matthis Abline may fight to join him up front.
That allows Florent Mollet, who boasts five goals so far this term, to operate from the right-hand side of a midfield four, with Moussa Sissoko and Douglas Augusto likely partnering up in the centre, while Eray Comert and veteran Nicolas Pallois should feature at the heart of the defence.
Reims possible starting lineup:
Diouf; Foket, Okumu, Agbadou, De Smet; Edoa, Matusiwa, Teuma; Diakhon, Khadra, Daramy
Nantes possible starting lineup:
Lafont; Coco, Comert, Pallois, Merlin; Mollet, Sissoko, Augusto, Chirivella; Kadewere, Bamba
We say: Reims 2-0 Nantes
Even with several key men away on international duty, Reims certainly have the quality in their side to get over the line on home turf on Sunday and should outclass their struggling visitors with confidence growing in the camp under Still.
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Sam Varley
