Reims and Clermont will both aim to bounce back from defeat on the opening weekend of the Ligue 1 season when they clash at the Stade Auguste-Delaune on Sunday.
The hosts suffered a 2-1 loss against Marseille last time out, while the visitors endured a 4-2 thrashing at the hands of Monaco.
Match preview
© Reuters
Reims got off to the best possible start when Junya Ito gave his side the lead after just 10 minutes last weekend, with the Red and Whites silencing the Stade Velodrome faithful.
However, Will Still's men failed to hold onto their advantage as Azzedine Ounahi equalised midway through the second half, before Vitinha scored the winner for Marseille on 73 minutes.
Despite chalking up 11 shots while enjoying the lion's share of possession, Reims were unable to make the most of their dominance against Marseille, who flexed their muscles to claim all three points.
Under the guidance of Still, Reims enjoyed a remarkable 19-game unbeaten streak in Ligue 1 last season, but after losing six of their final eight matches in 2022-23, they could struggle to reach those heights again.
© Reuters
Meanwhile, Clermont suffered a 4-2 thrashing against Monaco in their opening match of the new campaign, despite racking up 55% possession and 15 shots on home soil.
Mateusz Wieteska put the hosts ahead inside seven minutes, although goals from Vanderson and Wissam Ben-Yedder saw Monaco take a 2-1 lead into half time.
Les Lanciers equalised via Muhammed Cham after the break, but Les Monegasques refused to lie down, taking the lead through Ben-Yedder's second goal of the game for putting the icing on the cake with Maghnes Akliouche's stoppage-time strike.
Clermont enjoyed a hugely successful 2022-23 campaign, finishing eighth in the final standings - eight points clear of Reims - but Pascal Gastien's men must improve on last weekend's performance if they want to emulate their achievements from 2022-23.
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- L
- L
- D
- W
- W
- W
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Reims look set to be without midfielder Thibault De Smet and defender Cheick Keita for the foreseeable future as both players continue to recover from injury.
Last weekend, Oumar Diakite led the line in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Junya Ito, Marshall Munetsi and Reda Khadra operating behind the striker, while Amir Richardson and Azor Matusiwa anchored the midfield.
As for Clermont, Belgian defender Maximiliano Caufriez will miss Sunday's showdown as he continues to nurse an ankle injury sustained during pre-season.
Gastien will likely stick with his favoured 3-4-2-1 formation this weekend, meaning that Grejohn Kyei will spearhead the attack ahead of Muhammed Cham and Jim Allevinah, with Mehdi Zeffane and Neto Borges occupying the wing-back roles.
Reims possible starting lineup:
Diouf; Foket, Okumu, Abdelhamid, Wilson-Esbrand; Richardson, Matusiwa; Ito, Munetsi, Khadra; Diakite
Clermont possible starting lineup:
Diaw; Seidu, Wieteska, Pelmard; Zeffane, Gonalons, Gastien, Borges; Cham, Allevinah; Kyei
We say: Reims 2-1 Clermont
Given that Reims enjoyed plenty of success at the Stade Auguste-Delaune last term - losing just five of their 19 home league games - we expect Will Still's side to claim all three points on Sunday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Morris
