In a rematch from the third round of the Coupe de France, Angers return to Stade de la Meinau on Saturday in search of their first Ligue 1 victory of 2023 when they battle Strasbourg.
Both teams are currently in the relegation zone, with Angers bottom of the table on 10 points, eight fewer than the Alsaciens, who are a point below that line.
Match preview
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Consistency continues to be an issue for Strasbourg of late as they followed up a 2-0 victory over Montpellier HSC with a defeat away to Lille last weekend by that same score.
At the same time, they have not lost consecutive matches since Julien Stephan was sacked, but that was not enough for Mathieu Le Scornet to remain the interim boss as the club announced the appointment of Frederic Antonetti as the new manager this week, a man who most recently was in charge of Ligue 2 side Metz.
With only three wins after 23 domestic encounters, it is the fewest for this club to this point of a top-flight campaign since returning into Ligue 1 in 2017-18.
So far in 2022-23, nine of their 12 league matches played at home were decided by a goal or fewer, with Le Racing failing to win any of those close games.
They have squandered six points from winning positions at home in Ligue 1 this season, although their only two clean sheets of the campaign have occurred at Stade de la Meinau, including the last time out over Montpellier.
Strasbourg have never beaten Angers at home in Ligue 1, with their previous victory against them occurring in Alsace during the 1980-81 campaign when the top flight was known as Division 1.
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It is a long road back for Angers if they are to remain in Ligue 1 beyond this season, but they are taking some baby steps forward, drawing consecutive domestic encounters, most recently versus Auxerre last weekend (1-1).
A triumph or draw on Saturday would extend their unbeaten run in the top flight this season to three games, which would be the longest for them on the current campaign.
Claiming three points has proven to be challenging for Les Scoistes, but under Abdel Bouhazama, who replaced Gerald Baticle as manager in November, this team have been a lot more competitive, with six of their eight domestic fixtures under Bouhazama being decided by a goal or fewer.
Should they fail to climb out of the relegation zone by the end of the season, Angers might look back at some missed opportunities in 2023, dropping eight points from winning positions this year.
Throughout the campaign, this side have struggled to keep the ball out of their net, conceding more than any team in Ligue 1 (48), though they have been better defensively when visiting Strasbourg, collecting a clean sheet in three consecutive visits there.
Six of their 10 points in this competition have come against teams currently in the bottom half of the table, with half of those points coming away from home.
Team News
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Thomas Delaine could miss a few more weeks for Strasbourg due to a muscle strain, Eiji Kawashima is dealing with a sore shoulder, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde has a sprained ankle and Gerzino Nyamsi remains sidelined due to a groin injury.
Those are not the only potential exclusions for Antonetti in his debut match this weekend as Habib Diarra has a calf strain, Lebo Mothiba will not return until late February from an unknown injury and Jean-Eudes Aholou must sit out another match through suspension.
In their previous home fixture, a brace from Habib Diallo was all Le RCS would need to defeat Montpellier, while Matz Sels did not have to make a single stop to collect his second clean sheet of the competition and his first since September.
Les Scoistes could be missing their share of players as well, with Ulrick Eneme Ella and Ali Kalla both nursing knee injuries, Yahia Fofana is recovering from a meniscus issue and Farid El Melali has sore ribs.
After conceding four times away to Brest at the end of January, Angers goalkeeper Paul Bernardoni collected a clean sheet in his previous domestic road fixture, stopping two Lorient efforts in a 0-0 draw, while Sada Thioub and Amine Salama each missed their penalties as they exited the Coupe de France last week, with the latter putting his side in front in the sixth minute versus Nantes.
Adrien Hunou and Miha Blazic each scored in a losing effort at home to Strasbourg earlier in the campaign (3-2), while Bernardoni stopped a penalty from Bellegarde when they beat them 5-4 in a shootout at the Coupe de France last month after the match ended in a scoreless draw.
Strasbourg possible starting lineup:
Sels; Doukoure, Perrin, Le Marchand; Guilbert, Sissoko, Kandil, Lienard; Sanson; Gameiro, Diallo
Angers possible starting lineup:
Bernardoni; Valery, Houtondji, Blazic, Ghoulam; Abdelli, Capelle, Mendy, Hunou; Thioub, Sima
We say: Strasbourg 2-1 Angers
While Angers have managed to keep numerous matches close recently, their defence is too shaky for us to believe they have turned the corner, while Strasbourg are a little sharper in the attacking third, which we think will enable them to emerge victorious.
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