Having come so close yet so far to taking points off of runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain, Strasbourg open their 2023 Ligue 1 adventure against Troyes at the Stade de la Meinau on Monday.
Julien Stephan's side suffered a late 2-1 loss to PSG last time out, while neither ESTAC nor Nantes could find a way through in their midweek goalless stalemate.
Match preview
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Written off by many before stepping foot onto the Parc des Princes turf for a meeting with reigning champions PSG, Strasbourg's fears initially came true when Marquinhos headed home the opening goal in the first half, but Brazil's penalty villain then went from hero to zero.
The centre-back deflected a cross from Adrien Thomasson into his own net before Neymar was sent off for two bookable offences after diving, but in the sixth minute of second-half injury time, Gerzino Nyamsi bundled Kylian Mbappe over in the penalty area, and the Frenchman did the rest from 12 yards.
Julien Stephan was no doubt able to take pride from his side's performance in the capital, but pride will do little to alleviate Les Couriers' concerning place in the Ligue 1 table, as they remain second from bottom and are three points adrift of the safety of 16th place.
Still with just the one win to boast all season long - and even then they were handed a couple of scares in a 3-2 win over basement side Angers - Stephan's side are a far cry from the European hopefuls of 2021-22 but will welcome a trio of home fixtures to open 2023.
Angers and Lens will visit the Stade de la Meinau in Coupe de France and Ligue 1 action in the coming weeks, although they are the only team in the French top flight without a win on home territory this season - drawing five and losing three in front of their own fans so far.
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A kiss from Alban Lafont to the post as Nantes held on for a draw against Troyes, who went agonisingly close to taking all three points from Xavier Chavalerin's deflected effort, but the woodwork came to the Canaris goalkeeper's rescue as he showed his appreciation to the frame of the goal.
Patrick Kisnorbo's side were otherwise under the cosh and faced no fewer than 19 shots on the day - 10 of which were on target - but the Australian can feel satisfied with his side's ability to thwart the reigning Coupe de France champions in his first game in charge.
The trailblazing 41-year-old - who is the first-ever Australian to take charge of a club in the top five European leagues after replacing Bruno Irles - is now tasked with ending a lengthy winless run stretching back to September, although ESTAC still remain in a healthy position in 14th place.
Strasbourg love a draw at home, and Troyes have also developed an affinity for stalemates in recent times - drawing five of their last eight top-flight contests - but all three of their most recent away matches have ended in lowly defeats.
ESTAC's tally of 20 goals conceded away from home is also the second-worst tally in the division behind Auxerre's 22, but they coincidentally held Strasbourg to a pair of 1-1 stalemates last season, and neither manager would turn their noses up at another point to kick-start a pivotal 2023.
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Strasbourg were due to be without Alexander Djiku for their trip to PSG after the Ghanaian defender was caught up in a wide-scale betting scandal, but he stepped out onto the turf as captain after his ban was overturned.
Les Couriers did not sustain any fresh concerns in the loss to the champions, but Colin Dagba, Eiji Kawashima, Dimitri Lienard, Maxime Le Marchand, Nordine Kandil and Thomas Delaine are all struggling with injuries and could miss out again.
Right-back Ronael Pierre-Gabriel will be back from a suspension of his own and will expect to displace Ismael Doukoure in the rearguard, while Habib Diallo's fresh legs could be preferred to Kevin Gameiro in attack given the short turnaround.
As for Troyes, key attacker Mama Balde is serving the second of his two-game suspension and will not be available for the visitors here, meaning either Renaud Ripart or Ike Ugbo will spearhead the charge.
Karim Azamoum remains on the road to recovery from his ACL injury, but veteran centre-back Adil Rami could force his way back into contention after missing out at the last minute against Nantes.
Lucien Agoume should also be fine to feature despite complaining of pain during Friday's training session, but Kisnorbo should be reluctant to make any alterations to his side for Monday's game.
Strasbourg possible starting lineup:
Sels; Pierre-Gabriel, Nyamsi, Djiku, Perrin; Bellegarde, Prcic, Aholou; Thomasson; Diallo, Ajorque
Troyes possible starting lineup:
Lis; T. Balde, Salmier, Palmer-Brown, Conte; Kouame, Chavalerin; Bruus, Lopes, Odobert; Ripart
We say: Strasbourg 1-0 Troyes
The absence of Balde severely limits Troyes' effectiveness in the final third, and their newfound defensive resilience under Kisnorbo may not count for much on rival territory, where they have shipped goals for fun this term.
Both Strasbourg and Troyes have established a reputation as draw specialists recently, but having performed valiantly against PSG, Strasbourg can nick a crucial goal to post a long-awaited home victory.
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Top tip
Ben Knapton
