Sunday's Ligue 1 clash between Bordeaux and Nice at Matmut Atlantique could have huge implications at both ends of the table.
The hosts were on the wrong end of an eight-goal thriller last weekend as they edged closer to the drop, whilst the visitors picked up a narrow victory to keep their European qualification dreams alive.
Match preview
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Despite scoring nine goals in their last four games, Bordeaux have managed to pick up just the one win as they fight for their survival at the bottom of the Ligue 1 table.
The division's worst defence, with a remarkable 84 goals being conceded from 34 games, has cost Les Girondins some valuable points over the past few weeks in particular.
Five of those conceded goals came in last weekend's 5-3 defeat at Nantes, in which David Guion's side threw away 2-0 and 3-2 leads in a costly defeat.
Scoring three goals away at Nantes is certainly a difficult task, but to still come away empty-handed will have been a tough one to take for the division's 19th-placed club.
However, defeats for fellow strugglers Metz, Saint-Etienne, Troyes and Clermont, meant the loss in Nantes was not quite so damaging for Bordeaux.
Although, a four-point gap between themselves and Saint-Etienne in the relegation playoff spot does remain, whilst a draw for Clermont means that Bordeaux are now six points off complete safety heading into the weekend's action.
A difficult task against European-chasing Nice is therefore far from ideal at this stage of the season, but if the hosts can pick up a positive result and close the gap on other relegation candidates, then a favourable end to the season against Angers, Lorient and Brest could well see Bordeaux pull themselves out of danger, depending on how shaky their back line remains.
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Meanwhile, Nice's end-of-season aspirations are focused at the other end of the Ligue 1 table, with the dramatic late win against struggling Troyes last weekend keeping Christophe Galtier's men in the race for the Champions League places.
Khephren Thuram was the hero off the bench at the Allianz Riviera, with the midfielder netting the only goal of the game in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time.
Although the late goal was thoroughly deserved, the struggles on home soil against opposition fighting for survival indicated how far Nice have dropped off in the business end of the campaign.
Despite picking up all three points last weekend, it was only the fourth time that Les Aiglons have done so in their last 12 outings since the beginning of February, resulting in Galtier's side losing control over a top-three place.
However, despite their struggles of late, Nice still occupy fifth spot at the time of writing, and with just two points keeping them behind fellow challengers Monaco and Rennes, Sunday's visitors stand every chance of reaching their goal.
In order to achieve a positive result on Sunday though, Nice must find a way to return to their excellent away form from the early stages of the campaign, when they won eight of the opening 11 on their travels.
Since then, Galtier's men have failed to win in their last six on the road, scoring just once in this time, so a solution must be found immediately should they wish to compete on Europe's grand stage next season, and they will not be given too many better opportunities to correct this than the one facing them at Matmut Atlantique against struggling Bordeaux.
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Team News
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Bordeaux will be without defender Stian Gregersen due to suspension on Sunday, whilst Timothee Pembele and Alberth Elis remain sidelined through injury.
Enock Kwateng joins the duo on the treatment table due to a hamstring problem, and Issouf Sissokho is expected to remain absent once more due to a collarbone injury.
Tom Lacoux is expected to deputise for Kwateng in the right wing-back role, whilst the experienced Benoit Costil should continue in goal after being recalled for last weekend's 5-3 defeat.
As for the visitors, Morgan Schneiderlin remains on the sidelines once again, and the midfielder joins Youcef Atal and Alexis Claude-Maurice on the list of absentees, with the duo unavailable for the remainder of the campaign.
Danilo Barbosa returned from injury to feature on the bench against Troyes, but the Brazilian is unlikely to be utilised after being unused since February.
Thuram's match-winning goal last time out may have earned the 21-year-old a start in the centre of midfield alongside Pablo Rosario, with Hicham Boudaoui likely to drop out should Galtier look to rotate.
Bordeaux possible starting lineup:
Costil; Guilavogui, Marcelo, Ahmedhodzic; Lacoux, Adli, Ignatenko, Mangas; Dilrosun; Mara, Niang
Nice possible starting lineup:
Benitez; Lotomba, Todibo, Dante, Amavi; Kluivert, Thuram, Rosario, Gouiri; Dolberg, Delort
We say: Bordeaux 1-2 Nice
Although Nice have desperately struggled on their travels in recent weeks, there could not be many other sides that they would be eager to face in order to end their poor run.
The hosts cannot stop conceding goals despite success in front of goal themselves, so it is likely to cost them once again with a strong Nice side visiting the Matmut Atlantique.
Top tip
Matthew Tranter
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 Bordeaux win with a probability of 39.98%. A win for Nice had a probability of 34.59% and a draw had a probability of 25.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bordeaux win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.09%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.66%) and 2-0 (6.55%). The likeliest Nice win was 0-1 (8.34%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.01%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with an 8.3% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted that Nice would win this match.
