Strasbourg and Lyon will both endeavour to win just their second game of the 2020-21 Ligue 1 season when the two sides lock horns at the Stade de la Meinau on Sunday lunchtime.
The hosts fell to a 3-0 defeat to Lille before the international break, whereas Lyon's Olympique derby with Marseille ended in a 1-1 stalemate in gameweek six.
Match preview
With six games gone in the 2020-21 campaign, Strasbourg already have the look of relegation candidates. Thierry Laurey's men have lost five - scoring four goals and conceding 13 - with their solitary victory coming against basement side Dijon.
Even then, Strasbourg were made to work for a 1-0 win against their fellow strugglers in gameweek four, and Laurey's side have since lost back-to-back matches against Monaco and Lille, conceding three goals each time.
Burak Yilmaz, Renato Sanches and Zeki Celik were all on target for Lille as they cruised to a 3-0 win over Strasbourg last time out, and Laurey's side currently occupy the relegation playoff spot as things stand.
In fairness, Les Coureurs have been handed a difficult start to the season with fixtures against a number of European-chasing sides, and Strasbourg can look forward to two less daunting fixtures against Brest and Reims in the coming weeks, although the former are enjoying a good spell of form at the minute.
Strasbourg travelled to Switzerland to take on second division side Aarau during the international break, and the Ligue 1 outfit marched to a comfortable 2-0 victory in that encounter last weekend.
Meanwhile, Lyon certainly do not have the look of a side who reached the semi-finals of the Champions League last season, as Les Gones are winless in the French top flight since the opening weekend.
Having thrashed Dijon 4-1 in their inaugural game of the 2020-21 campaign, the under-fire Rudi Garcia has witnessed his team draw four out of their last five games, as well as suffering a 2-1 defeat to Montpellier, in the early stages of the new season.
The first Choc des Olympiques of the season saw Marseille hold Lyon to a 1-1 draw despite the sending-off of Dimitri Payet 19 minutes in, with Garcia's men needing a Houssem Aouar penalty to salvage a point in that derby.
Aouar - alongside highly sought-after teammate Memphis Depay - both ended up remaining at Lyon despite persistent links with Arsenal and Barcelona respectively, and managing to hold on to two of their most prized assets should give Les Gones an injection of confidence as they look to turn their fortunes around following the international break.
Lyon took the spoils in a 2-1 victory at Strasbourg last season before Les Coureurs managed to hold Garcia's men to a 1-1 draw in the most recent meeting back in February.
Strasbourg Ligue 1 form: LLLWLL
Lyon Ligue 1 form: WDLDDD
Team News
Strasbourg will be forced into one change in midfield as Alexander Djiku misses out due to suspension, meaning that Ibrahima Sissoko should start in the holding role.
Striker Majeed Waris is back in training following a thigh injury but remains a doubt for the visit of Lyon, with new arrival Habib Diallo in line to make his debut for Les Coureurs alongside Ludovic Ajorque.
Matz Sels and Lebo Mothiba are long-term absentees for the hosts, with both men not expected to return to action until 2021.
As for Lyon, 21-year-old Malcolm Barcola is in line to make his debut in goal following positive coronavirus tests for Anthony Lopes and Julian Pollersbeck, while Maxence Caqueret also returned a positive test whilst on international duty.
Midfielder Bruno Guimaraes is suspended, while Garcia has lost both first-choice full-backs in Leo Dubois and Melvin Bard to COVID-19 and a calf injury respectively.
Depay and Moussa Dembele were both named on the bench against Marseille but will surely come back into the starting lineup for this encounter.
Strasbourg possible starting lineup:
Kamara; Lala, Simakan, Kone, Caci; Sissoko, Bellegarde, Lienard; Thomasson; Ajorque, Diallo
Lyon possible starting lineup:
Barcola; Marcelo, Denayer, Diomande; De Sciglio, Aouar, Mendes, Cornet; Paqueta; Depay, Dembele
We say: Strasbourg 0-2 Lyon
Lyon's recent form has been extremely underwhelming and Garcia will be forced to name a heavily-changed lineup owing to injuries, suspensions and coronavirus. Strasbourg will probably feel that they will not get a better opportunity to take points off Lyon for a while, but with the quality that Les Gones have in their ranks, we expect Lyon to end their winless run against an out-of-sorts Strasbourg side on Sunday.
Top betting tip
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