Metz Form
The team produced an unexpected away draw against Rennes (0:0) in the last round. That share of the spoils ended a five-match losing run in the league. At the same time, their winless streak only grew and now stands at 15 games (three draws and 12 defeats). In addition, the club failed to score in four of their previous five Ligue 1 matches. Metz remain bottom of the standings and are 13 points adrift of safety in 15th place. The club have also conceded the most in the league – 60 goals.
- No more than three goals were scored in six of the team’s last eight Ligue 1 matches.
- On home soil, Metz are winless in seven straight league matches (one draw and six defeats).
- The club have not won the second half in their last 15 Ligue 1 games (eight draws and seven defeats).
Potential Metz Lineup (4-2-3-1)*
Pape Sy – Koffi Kouao, Sadibou Sane, Maxime Colin, Terry Yegbe – Jean-Philippe Gbamin, Alpha Toure – Jessy Deminguet, Giorgi Tsitaishvili, Bouna Sarr – Habib Diallo.
Nantes Form
Nantes have also struggled for results this season and sit alongside Metz in the standings, three points ahead of their opponents. The club’s main target is not to reach the safe 15th place, but at least to catch Auxerre, who are 16th and five points ahead of Nantes. From that position, they can fight to keep their Ligue 1 place against a lower-division side in the play-offs. The club go into the upcoming match on the back of three straight defeats: away to Lille (0:1), then home losses to Angers (0:1) and Strasbourg (2:3).
- The team scored in nine of their previous 12 Ligue 1 matches.
- Nantes have lost eight of their last nine league matches.
- The club are winless in six of their previous seven away Ligue 1 matches (one draw and five defeats).
Potential Nantes Lineup (4-1-4-1)*
Anthony Lopes – Kelvin Amian, Nicolas Cozza, Chidozie Awaziem, Tylel Tati – Ibrahima Sissoko – Demen Assoumani, Mohamed Kaba, Johann Lepenant, Matthis Abline – Ignatius Ganago.
Who Will Referee the Match
Jerome Brisard (France)
Matches – 14 (Ligue 1, 2025/26);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 65;
Average yellow cards per match – 4.64;
Red cards shown – 6;
Average fouls per match – 24;
Penalties – 14%.
* For each team, the starting XI from its previous match in this competition is listed.
