Bottom club Angers travel to the Stade du Moustoir to face Lorient in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
Both clubs are reeling from losing vital players late in the January transfer window.
Match preview
© Reuters
Lorient's fall-off in Ligue 1 this season has been nothing short of extraordinary in the second quarter of the season.
After starting the season with 26 points from a possible 30, they were in uncharted territory at the top of the French top flight, as they have never previously finished higher than seventh.
Since then though, they have won just two of their last 11 league outings, falling out of the European places altogether.
One of those wins came against their upcoming opponents on New Year's Day, and they must repeat that feat if they want a push for Europe to remain attainable.
That aim took another blow in midweek, when they threw away a 2-0 lead to lose 4-2 at Reims.
Their hopes have also not been helped by the fact that their two top scorers have both left the club in January.
Terem Moffi and Dango Ouattara were responsible for 18 of Lorient's Ligue 1 goals this season, more than half of their total tally, but the duo have departed to join Nice and Bournemouth respectively.
Cup success could be a way of them salvaging a stagnating season, as they face Lens in the last 16 of the Coupe de France in midweek, but attention is firmly on beating the league's whipping boys first.
On Wednesday, Angers set a new, all-time Ligue 1 record for number of consecutive defeats in the competition's history.
© Reuters
A heartbreaking defeat to AC Ajaccio at a near-deserted Stade Raymond-Kopa made it 13 losses in a row for the side now cut adrift at the bottom.
Losing 4-0 at Brest last weekend meant they equalled the record set by CA Paris in 1933-34 and Dijon in 2021 for consecutive league defeats.
The Ajaccio match promised so much too, as they aimed to avoid being the outright holders of the unwanted record, but after leading for three-quarters of the match, an equaliser and an Angers red card saw them struggle to hang on for a point.
The killer blow came in the 94th minute, when Mounaim El Idrissy netted the winner for their relegation rivals, with the Angers players and bench looking on in horror.
Abdel Bouhazama's side are now 11 points from safety and, to make matters worse, their two Moroccan World Cup stars, Azzedine Ounahi and Sofiane Boufal, have both departed.
The unwanted records do not stop there either, as they have not scored in their last five away matches, which does not bode well for this fixture on the road.
Angers also have the worst defensive record in Ligue 1, and no side has scored fewer goals, so their prospects of survival look almost impossible.
Team News
© Reuters
Lorient keeper Yvon Mvogo remains out, as the club moved to bring in Julian Pollersbeck late in the window to provide competition to Vito Mannone.
Fellow new additions Bamba Dieng, Romain Faivre and Jean-Victor Makengo all made their debuts off the bench versus Reims in midweek.
Moffi left on deadline day, but he had not played since their defeat to Marseille three weeks ago, so they have had time to adjust to life without him.
Souleyman Doumbia will be suspended for Angers after his red card against Ajaccio.
Yahia Fofana will miss this one too, but Ilyes Chetti is edging closer to a return after a month out.
With Ounahi and Boufal both out the door, Ibrahima Niane and Faouzi Ghoulam have been brought in as reinforcements.
Nabil Bentaleb stayed at the club despite interest from Italy and Turkey late in the window.
Lorient possible starting lineup:
Mannone; Kalulu, Laporte, Talbi, Le Goff; Innocent, Le Fee, Ponceau; Faivre, Le Bris, Dieng
Angers possible starting lineup:
Bernardoni; Valery, Hountondji, Blazic, Ghoulam; Salama, Bentaleb, Mendy, Abdelli; Hunou, Sima
We say: Lorient 1-0 Angers
Lorient have not been on a good run by any means, but they were still able to beat a hapless Angers at the start of January.
Relegation looms for the visitors, and they really must end this staggering losing streak sooner rather than later.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
