Freiburg can seal their progression to the Europa League knockout stages by avoiding defeat in Nantes on Thursday.

The hosts, meanwhile, are aiming to close the gap on the top two in Group G.

Match preview

Despite winning the Coupe de France for the first time in 22 years last season - as well as securing their first top-half finish in Ligue 1 for four years - Nantes have endured a dreadful start to the current campaign.

Antoine Kombouare's side are languishing second bottom in the Ligue 1 table, having taken only one point from their last five league games. They have managed just one win in 10 league matches overall, while they have lost ground in the Europa League with successive defeats to Qarabag FK and Freiburg having beaten Olympiacos on the opening matchday.

With four relegation places in France's top flight this season, as the French Football Federation aim to reduce Ligue 1 to 18 teams across a couple of years, the Canaries appear to be in serious danger of sliding down to Ligue 2 for the first time in a decade.

Whether Kombouare, who admitted that he felt "ashamed" after Sunday's 3-0 defeat to the club's fiercest rivals Rennes, views the Europa League as welcome relief or an unwanted distraction from his side's domestic struggles is unclear.

However, beating Freiburg on Thursday would give them real hope of reaching the knockout stages of European competition for the first time since 2005, which would be a serious achievement for a club of their size, especially given their current plight.

Freiburg, on the other hand, are a club moving with serious forward momentum under Christian Streich's tutelage, having reached the Europa League group stage for only the second time since he became manager in 2011.

Breisgau Brazilians, as the club are fondly known by their supporters, failed to qualify for the knockout stages in their previous appearance in 2013-14, but that looks set to change this time around having won each of their opening three matches.

Streich's side are going strong in the Bundesliga, too, sitting ahead of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in second place after nine games. After reaching the DFB-Pokal final for the first time in their history as well as finishing in the top six for the first time in nine years, the sky appears to be the limit for the club's ambitions at the moment.

However, Streich is not a man who easily gets carried away, and he will be focusing his players ahead of the trip to Nantes on Thursday. While there should only be one winner between the two teams on current form, the 57-year-old will sense a potential reaction from their forthcoming opponents, and he would dearly love to wrap up their progression with two games to spare.

Team News

Nantes will be without Fabien Centonze on Thursday, as the right-back is suffering with a muscle injury, while Fabio Da Silva is doubtful due to a sprained knee.

Kombouare could revert to a back five after seeing his side comfortably beaten by Rennes when using only four defenders on Sunday, with Andrei Girotto potentially replacing former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Moussa Sissoko.

Freiburg, meanwhile, remain without Hungary winger Roland Sallai, who fractured his eye socket last month, while Kimberly Ezekwem is still recovering from a tendon issue.

Streich is unlikely to make too many changes from the team that defeated Nantes 2-0 at Europa-Park Stadion last week, with exactly the same starting XI drawing 2-2 away to Hertha Berlin on Sunday.

Nantes possible starting lineup:
Lafont; Castelletto, Girotto, Pallois; Appiah, Blas, Moutoussamy, Chirivella, Merlin; Mohamed, Simon

Freiburg possible starting lineup:
Flekken; Sildillia, Ginter, Lienhart, Gunter; Eggestein, Hofler; Doan, Kyereh, Grifo; Gregoritsch

We say: Nantes 1-2 Freiburg

On current form it is hard to see beyond Freiburg retaining their 100% record in the Europa League this season, even if Nantes are likely to be a tougher nut to crack on home soil.

The hosts are on a desperate run of results right now and Kombouare is facing significant pressure, especially after losing the Derby Breton on Sunday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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