Clermont will be looking to build on their surprise win last weekend when they welcome Bordeaux in a huge relegation clash in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
The hosts have pulled away from immediate danger for the time being thanks to a revival in form in recent weeks, whilst the visitors remain in a desperate situation at the foot of the table following their poor start to the New Year.
Match preview
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There were not many people that would have given Clermont any glimmer of hope when they travelled to the Orange Velodrome to face Marseille last week.
However, a stunning smash-and-grab performance saw Pascal Gastien's side come away with an unexpected 2-0 victory, with goals from Mohamed Bayo and Jim Allevinah providing the visitors with a priceless three points.
With the disappointing home defeat to struggling Saint Etienne just a week earlier, even the manager will have been surprised by the excellent response from his side, but despite the setback in their prior fixture, the win in Marseille extended Clermont's strong run of form.
Following three wins from their last four outings as a result of last weekend's victory, Les Lanciers have climbed to 15th in the Ligue 1 table at the time of writing, with six points keeping them above the drop zone, and Sunday's opponents.
After being hugely against the odds to achieve a result last time out, Pascal Gastien's side will instead have the odds in their favour on Sunday, with Clermont expected to continue their fine recent form by picking up another vital three points against a fellow relegation candidate at the Stade Gabriel Montpied.
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Meanwhile, whilst the hosts are on the up heading into this relegation clash, visitors Bordeaux remain in all kinds of trouble following a poor start to the New Year.
Despite achieving a draw in their new manager's first game in charge against European hopefuls Monaco last Sunday, Bordeaux will have been disappointed in their failure to take home all three points.
Remi Oudin netted his fourth league goal of the campaign to provide Les Girondins with the lead midway through the first half, and after Aurelien Tchouameni was shown a second yellow card for their opponents just 12 minutes later, Sunday's visitors looked set to pick up a crucial three points.
However, in David Guion's debut match at the helm, his side failed to kick on from their commanding position and had to settle for a 1-1 draw in the end, after Marcelo scored at the wrong end of the pitch in the 67th minute.
Those two dropped points leave the visitors in last place, but with all three sides directly above them sharing an equal points tally, one win could catapult Bordeaux into safety.
In order to do so, Guion's men must arrest their dreadful form on their travels in recent weeks however, with four consecutive defeats across all competitions away from home being suffered in 2022, and a worrying tally of 17 goals being conceded during that time as well.
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Team News
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Clermont would have potentially named an unchanged starting lineup from the one that triumphed in Marseille last week, but Alidu Seidu will miss out through suspension.
Florent Ogier is likely to deputise for him in the heart of the defence, whilst fellow central defender Jean-Claude Billong could also make a return to the squad following an ankle injury.
The hosts have no other injury concerns to contend with though, after Elbasan Rashani and Johan Gastien came through unscathed last time out following late fitness tests.
As for the visitors, they could well remain without first-choice goalkeeper Benoit Costil on Sunday, with the 34-year-old remaining doubtful due to a calf injury.
Experienced forward Jimmy Briand finds himself in a similar situation, but Enock Kwateng, Ricardo Mangas, Fransergio and Alberth Elis are all definitely ruled out.
Guion could well switch from a defensive 5-4-1 formation that he opted for against Monaco last week, and instead change to a more attacking setup with this clash being one that his side must achieve a positive result from.
Clermont possible starting lineup:
Djoco; Zedadka, Houtondji, Oger, N'Simba; Magnin, J Gastien, Abdul Samed; Da Cunha, Bayo, Rashani
Bordeaux possible starting lineup:
Poussin; Pembele, Marcelo, Ahmedhodzic, Mensah; Oudin, Guilavogui, Onana, Adli, Dilrosun; Hwang
We say: Clermont 2-1 Bordeaux
The differing form of these two sides mean we are predicting a home win on Sunday, with Clermont on the up in recent weeks and Bordeaux in all kinds of trouble.
It remains to be seen how much of an impact that new Bordeaux manager Guion will have on his side's form, but their awful return away from home in recent weeks mean we are sticking with a Clermont win in this big relegation battle.
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 Clermont win with a probability of 62.88%. A draw had a probability of 21.3% and a win for Bordeaux had a probability of 15.84%.
The most likely scoreline for a Clermont win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.82%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (11.49%) and 2-1 (9.84%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.12%), while for a Bordeaux win it was 0-1 (5.21%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 10.1% likelihood.
