Reims and Saint-Etienne will both be aiming to extend their respective unbeaten runs when they do battle at the Stade Auguste-Delaune on Saturday evening.
Only one point separates the two teams in the table after 18 matches, with Saint-Etienne in 14th and Reims in 15th after both clubs turned their fortunes around over the festive period.
Match preview
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Reims would have felt confident about their chances of recording back-to-back victories for only the second time this season against Dijon in midweek, but their fellow strugglers managed to prevent Boulaye Dia and co from scoring as the spoils were shared in a drab goalless draw.
David Guion will no doubt view that tie as two points lost rather than one point gained, but Reims have nevertheless managed to take eight points from their last four matches and have created some much-needed breathing space between themselves and the bottom three.
Les Rouges et Blancs managed to overcome Nantes and Bordeaux before the Christmas break and are looking good for survival if they can keep this form up, but failing to breach a leaky Dijon defence is sure to rock the hosts' confidence prior to gameweek 19.
Not even 10-goal Dia could find a way through on the night, but he has quickly become one of the shining lights of the season for Guion's men. Only Kylian Mbappe has netted more goals than the 24-year-old in the current campaign and it is no surprise that compatriot Sadio Mane has talked up his quality in recent weeks.
Wednesday's stalemate against Dijon saw Reims record their third home game on the trot without defeat, and the hosts will leapfrog Saint-Etienne in the table with a win on Saturday, but the visitors also know a thing or two about unbeaten streaks.
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Six of Saint-Etienne's last seven games have ended with both sides walking away with a point, and not many fans would have placed bets on that run continuing against a Paris Saint-Germain team looking to get off to a fast start under Mauricio Pochettino.
However, Les Verts' affinity for draws is evident and they managed to hold the champions to a 1-1 stalemate on the night, with Romain Hamouma opening the scoring with his fourth goal of the season before Moise Kean equalised three minutes later.
Saint-Etienne's run of one-pointers has seen them slowly creep up the table into 14th, and while Claude Puel's men have not lost a game since November 21, they can only boast one victory from their last 15 in the top flight.
Les Verts' ability to turn draws into wins will ultimately prove to be the difference between a top-half or bottom-half finish, and depending on the outcome and scoreline of Nice's game with Metz, Saint-Etienne could rise to 13th with a rare victory.
Reims managed to take the spoils with a 3-1 triumph in this fixture last season - their first win over Saint-Etienne since 2003 - before the two clubs played out a 1-1 draw on Les Verts' turf.
Reims Ligue 1 form: DLWDWD
Saint-Etienne Ligue 1 form: DDWDDD
Team News
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Reims boast a near fully-fit contingent for Saturday's game, with striker Anastasios Donis the only confirmed absentee through a muscular problem.
Having tried and failed to find the back of the net against Dijon, Guion may be tempted to bring El Bilal Toure back into the starting lineup alongside Dia up top.
Mathieu Cafaro could also be in line for a start if the hosts do revert to a 4-4-2 this weekend.
Saint-Etienne will welcome the returns of midfield duo Yvan Neyou and Mahdi Camara for this one, but 17-year-old Lucas Gourna-Douath earned plenty of plaudits for his performance against PSG and it would be harsh to see him dropped.
Panagiotis Retsos also made his comeback from injury to give Puel food for thought in defence, with any changes to the visitors' rearguard unlikely.
However, Puel may be tempted to go for a more attacking approach this weekend, which could see Adil Aouchiche feature from the first whistle.
Goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier recently ended his nine-and-a-half year association with Saint-Etienne after turning out 383 times for the club, but his final days at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard were overshadowed by a conflict with Puel and he leaves without making a single appearance this season.
Reims possible starting lineup:
Rajkovic; Foket, Faes, Abdelhamid, Konan; Cafaro, Cassama, Berisha, Mbuku; Dia, Toure
Saint-Etienne possible starting lineup:
Moulin; Debuchy, Retsos, Moukoudi, Kolodziejczak; Neyou, Gourna-Douath; Nordin, Aouchiche, Bouanga; Hamouma
We say: Reims 1-2 Saint-Etienne
Another draw for Saint-Etienne will extend their unbeaten run to eight matches, but it would also be sure to leave the Verts faithful feeling increasingly frustrated at their side's inability to get over the line. Reims carry plenty of threat going forward through Dia and Toure, but the visitors will be boosted by a couple of returns and should do enough to claim all three points this weekend, but Guion's men will not make life easy for them.
Top betting tip
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 Reims win with a probability of 37.71%. A win for Saint-Etienne had a probability of 34.61% and a draw had a probability of 27.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Reims win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.21%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.03%) and 2-0 (6.89%). The likeliest Saint-Etienne win was 0-1 (10.63%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.06%). The actual scoreline of 3-1 was predicted with a 3.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Reims would win this match.
