Angers and Marseille will both be aiming to return to winning ways in Ligue 1 when the two sides round off 2020 with a showdown at the Stade Raymond Kopa.

Stephane Moulin's side played out a 1-1 draw with Nantes in their most recent outing, while Marseille also took a point from their clash with Reims on Saturday.

Match preview

Angers' winless run in Ligue 1 stretched to three games with a 1-1 stalemate against struggling Nantes in gameweek 16, with Romain Thomas netting on the stroke of half time for Moulin's men before Charles Traore rescued a point for Les Canaris with only seconds remaining.

While Moulin would have undoubtedly been devastated to only take one point from that encounter, the Angers manager can certainly be satisfied with the way his team have gone about their business in the opening stages of the 2020-21 campaign.

Les Scoistes sit in the top half of the table with 24 points taken from a possible 48 so far, and should Angers prevail on Wednesday, Moulin's side could finish the year as high as seventh in the table depending on results elsewhere.

Angers have only tasted defeat in one of their last five league outings, but failures to beat strugglers Nantes and Strasbourg in recent weeks will not fill the Scoistes faithful with confidence, and Moulin's men can only boast a solitary win from their last five at the Stade Raymond Kopa.

Meanwhile, Marseille's title chances took a huge blow as Les Olympiens could only claim a point from their clash with a struggling Reims side, with Florian Thauvin cancelling out Yuto Nagatomo's 20th-minute own goal on the night.

Andre Villas-Boas's men had already lost ground in the race for Ligue 1 glory with a 2-1 defeat to Rennes last midweek, but with Lille and Paris Saint-Germain's encounter also ending all square, Marseille are only five points off the pace heading into Wednesday's game.

Furthermore, Les Olympiens have played two games fewer than the three sides above them in the table, and with PSG faltering in recent weeks, the Marseille faithful have every right to dream of a historic title triumph given their favourable position in the rankings.

While Villas-Boas's men cannot rise any higher with a win here, Marseille have taken 16 points from a possible 21 on the road this season and will be determined to show that their recent slip-ups against Rennes and Reims were just minor blips as they look to mount a title charge.

Angers last tasted success against Marseille in September 2015, and five of the last six meetings between the two sides have ended in draws, with Marseille managing to win 2-0 at the Stade Raymond Kopa last season.

Angers Ligue 1 form: LWWDLD

Marseille Ligue 1 form: WWWWLD
Marseille form (all competitions): WWLWLD

Team News

Angers forward Lois Diony had to come off injured in the recent draw with Nantes, meaning that five-goal striker Stephane Bahoken should lead the line in this one.

The likes of Sofiane Boufal, Angelo Fulgini, Sada Thioub and Ibrahim Amadou remain sidelined, while Moulin has also revealed that Rachid Alioui is "seriously ill" with an undisclosed issue.

Farid El Melali and Mathias Pereira Lage could come back in on the flanks for Angers, but any further changes on the hosts' end are unlikely.

Marseille midfielder Pape Gueye played against Reims despite being handed a suspension for his red card in the loss to Rennes, so the 21-year-old will serve that ban here after the French Sports Committee rejected an appeal from Marseille.

Gueye was cleared to play at the weekend, but with the midfielder set to sit this one out, Michael Cuisance is in line for a return to the visitors' lineup.

Fellow midfielder Morgan Sanson is expected to miss out as he nurses a hamstring problem, while Nagatomo will have the chance to right the wrongs of the weekend with Jordan Amavi also injured.

Angers possible starting lineup:
Bernardoni; Bamba, Traore, Thomas, Doumbia; Coulibaly, Mangani; El Melali, Bobichon; Lage; Bahoken

Marseille possible starting lineup:
Mandanda; Sakai, Gonzalez, Caleta-Car, Nagatomo; Kamara, Rongier, Cuisance; Thauvin, Benedetto, Payet

We say: Angers 1-2 Marseille

Despite their position in the top half of the table, Angers have been struggling for results against sides whom they would have expected to beat. Bar their recent loss at Rennes, Marseille's away form makes for good reading for the Olympiens faithful heading into this one, and we expect Villas-Boas's side to get their title charge back on track with a narrow win in their final game of 2020.

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