Under-fire Nantes manager Antoine Kombouare will need a result when they welcome Monaco to the Stade de la Beaujoire in Ligue 1 on Friday night.

With their 12-year stay in the top flight under threat, a visit from one of the strongest travelling sides in Ligue 1 this weekend is not the ideal scenario for Nantes.

Match preview

While it looked like a certainty that Kombouare would face the sack after four straight defeats in November, a draw away to Paris Saint-Germain seemingly just delayed the inevitable.

However, Nantes' performances have picked up somewhat since that spirited performance at the Parc des Princes, losing just one of their last five games.

Another impressive result last weekend saw them take a point away at Lille, but the Canaries desperately need wins, after victories for both Angers and Saint-Etienne saw them drop into the bottom three.

Nantes have only won one of their last 13 matches, taking 15 points all season, but after beating Rennes 1-0 at home in their last home outing, they have the chance to win back-to-back games at the Beaujoire for the first time in 16 months.

While that may be easier said than done given their poor record against Monaco, goals could come naturally in a fixture that has produced a hatful in recent encounters.

While Nantes beat Monaco on penalties in the Coupe de France semi-finals two seasons ago after a 2-2 draw, they have since failed to win any of the four league meetings since, but those five head-to-heads have produced an exciting 23 goals.

Monaco will feel extremely confident of extending a run of just one defeat in 22 league meetings with Nantes, given the respective form of the two sides this season.

However, it has not gone to plan for Adi Hutter recently, shortly after signing a new long-term contract at the club.

Monaco now find themselves three points behind second-placed Marseille after Roberto De Zerbi's men thrashed Le Havre last week, while the club from the principality were in Trophee des Champions action.

Hutter's side played their matchday 16 fixture last month instead, losing 4-2 to PSG, and it was the same opponents that beat them in the Trophee des Champions last weekend, with Ousmane Dembele's injury-time strike sinking them.

That means they have now won just two of their last eight matches in all competitions, and one of them was against sixth-tier Saint-Jean in the Coupe de France at the end of the year.

More dropped points here expose Monaco to dropping out of the top four if Lille, Nice and Lyon can all find wins, in a race for Europe that is becoming hugely competitive.

Team News

The only injury absentees for Nantes are attackers Tino Kadewere and Adel Mahamoud, but the form of Matthis Abline has mitigated that, scoring the equaliser at Lille last week after netting a brace in the cup win at the end of 2024.

Veteran goalkeeper Anthony Lopes also made his debut for the club just days after arriving from Lyon, and the former Portuguese international is set to be the club's number one going forward.

Monaco are without their first-choice goalkeeper, as Radoslaw Majecki has been sidelined with another injury after missing a large chunk of the season already, so Philipp Kohn is expected to deputise again.

Wilfried Singo will return from suspension in defence, but the visitors are without young Christian Mawissa Elebi, who has missed the last three matches.

Striker Folarin Balogun is still struggling with a shoulder problem and is doubtful, while the versatile Krepin Diatta, who has played just one minute since the start of November, is out with a muscle issue.

Nantes possible starting lineup:
Lopes; Amian, Castelletto, Zeze, Cozza; Pedro Chirivella, Lepenant, Douglas Augusto; Thomas, Abline, Ganago

Monaco possible starting lineup:
Kohn; Vanderson, Kehrer, Singo, Caio Henrique; Zakaria, Camara; Akliouche, Golovin, Ben Seghir; Embolo

We say: Nantes 1-2 Monaco

With just one defeat in five games, fortunes have certainly improved for Nantes in recent weeks, but this will be a tough ask against a strong Monaco side that love playing away.

With 12 wins in their last 17 away games in Ligue 1, the visitors will be favourites, but Hutter's men also know that a win is imperative, given they have only come out victorious in two of their last eight in all competitions.


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