Ligue 1 
Nantes welcomes Troyes at the Beaujoire Stadium for a mid-afternoon kick-off this Sunday. Les Canaris will be looking to widening the gap between themselves and the drop. Whereas Troyes desperately need a win as there are 10 points adrift from safety.
Despite being in the Coupe de France final and looking to retain the trophy for the second year running, Kombouaré’s side have been very disappointing in the league this season. Being in the Europa League may have played a part in their bad run of form in the league this season.
Currently 15th and two points above the relegation zone, Nantes, are winless in their last five games in the league. Three draws and two defeats has put them in danger of falling in the relegation zone.
In their last two games in March, they picked up two draws. Their clash with Nice ended in a 2-2 draw with a goal from a former Tottenham player Moussa Sissoko and top goalscorer for Nice, Mostafa Mohamed; whereas goals from Moffi and Ndayishimiye made sure of the draw. The other draw was against Lyon. Lyon scored an own goal early on but Lacazette scored the equaliser 22 minutes later, the game finished 1-1. Nantes did beat them a couple of weeks later in the Coupe de France Semi-final, winning the match by a 1-0 scoreline.
In their first three games in April, Nantes have only picked up a point. Which was at home to Monaco. Despite being 2-0 down at half time Nantes grabbed two goals from Mohamed and Blas which secured Nantes a vital point.
However, their two defeats were against Reims and relegation rivals Auxerre. Two goals from Flips and an early goal in the second half form Munetsi sealed Nantes’s fate, and recently there 2-1 defeat to Auxerre left them vulnerable for the drop.
Having avoided the drop last season Troyes haven’t learnt their lesson this season as they sit 10 points off safety.
Patrick Kisnorbo's side have only won one game in 2023 which was their first game in the new year. A 3-2 win away to Strasbourg. Four losses and a draw in their last five games makes them more or less certain they will be relegated from Ligue 1. Troyes have only scored three goals in their last five games as well. Two of their goals were against Brest in a 2-2 draw at home.
Three out of the four defeats have seen them lose via a two-goal deficit, firstly, 2-0 against 10th-place Lorient in March, and their other two defeats were in April; a 1-0 defeat to 14th-place Auxerre away from home and 11th-place Clermont Foot at home, while their most recent defeat came against Marseille. Despite getting a consolation goal in the 91st minute by their number one striker Mama Balde, they were outclassed by Marseille from minute one and looked like they could have scored more, especially in the first half.
In Nantes and Troyes's last 25 meetings, Nantes have won 13 whereas Troyes have won seven which means five times these two have faced it has ended in a draw. On average in direct matches, both teams scored 1.68 goals per match.
