Preview: Dijon vs. Bordeaux - prediction, team news, lineups

Two out-of-form Ligue 1 sides face one another on Sunday as basement club Dijon host Bordeaux, with both teams heading into this fixture having accumulated just one point from their last 12 league games combined.

The Owls are enduring the longest ongoing losing run of any French top-flight side in 2020-21, having lost their last eight in succession, while Bordeaux are not faring much better as they have failed to win any of their last seven, conceding 12 goals in the process.

Match preview

© Reuters

Dijon's hopes of a great escape are vanishing week by week and time is running out if they are to prevent their impending demotion to Ligue 2.

The Owls suffered their 17th defeat of the campaign on Wednesday night, losing 3-1 away at Brest, which leaves David Linares's side rock bottom and 12 points adrift of safety.

It is still mathematically possible for Dijon to survive, but other sides around them such as Nantes, Nimes and Lorient have all recently picked up positive results, while they are still waiting to claim their first points since a 1-1 draw with Strasbourg on January 24, having lost their last nine matches in a row in all competitions.

The Owls remain the only Ligue 1 side yet to win at home this season after 14 attempts, and they have also failed to come out on top in each of their last three games against Bordeaux at the Stade Gaston Gerard.

Dijon are currently on course to end a top-flight season on the fewest points (15) in Ligue 1 history, but a win on Sunday would mean the 1988-89 Lens side (17) would keep that unfortunate title.

© Reuters

Things could hardly get much worse for Dijon, but the last six weeks for Bordeaux have come close to matching the difficult times that they are having in the top-flight.

A narrow 1-0 loss to reigning Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain has extended their winless run across all competitions to eight matches, with seven of those ending in defeat.

Their current predicament was not helped when club captain Laurent Koscielny publicly called out his own teammates a fortnight ago, claiming that the atmosphere within the squad is "very average".

Jean-Louis Gasset will feel disheartened that his side have nothing to show for their efforts in recent weeks and knows that they must grind out results quickly to avoid falling into the bottom three.

Bordeaux have lost their last three Ligue 1 away games but have not lost four in a row in the competition since January and February in 2019.

The Girondins comfortably beat Dijon 3-0 back in October, and another victory on Sunday could see them climb four places, as high as 11th in the table, 11 points clear of the relegation zone.

Team News

© Reuters

Midfield duo Mounir Chouiar and Pape Cheikh Diop are both doubts for Dijon this weekend.

After conceding three goals against Brest on Wednesday, while playing a 4-2-3-1 formation, Linares may decide to revert to the three-man defence that he has used more frequently of late.

For Bordeaux, Koscielny is suspended for this weekend, while Otavio (Achilles tendon) and Toma Basic (thigh) remain out with injuries.

Creative midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa, who has failed to score or provide an assist in each of his last nine Ligue 1 games, was dropped to the bench for the last two matches and will hope to force his way back into the starting lineup on Sunday.

Dijon possible starting lineup:
Racioppi; Coulibaly, Manga, Panzo; Boey, Ndong, Lautoa, Muzinga; Celina; Konate, Balde

Bordeaux possible starting lineup:
Costil; Sabaly, Mexer, Baysse, Benito; Seri, Adli; Oudin, Ben Arfa, Kalu; Hwang

We say: Dijon 1-2 Bordeaux

Both sides will fancy their chances of ending their miserable runs of form this weekend as they bid to kickstart a revival heading into the final 10 games of the season.

Bordeaux are the only Ligue 1 team to have lost each time they have conceded the opening goal of a league match this season (11), but if they can replicate their performance when they last faced the Owls five months ago then Gasset's men should have enough quality to secure all three points on Sunday.