Guingamp vs Nantes Predictions

Jocelyn Gourvennec’s Guingamp side have been generally poor recently but managed to throw themselves a lifeline last week after they beat Angers (1-0) with other teams around them failing to really distance themselves from les rouges et blancs. Guingamp put in a quite rare professional performance as they created good chances while restricting Angers to just the one shot on target. Guingamp had quite a few opportunities to score but squandered them which made Lucas Deaux’s 91st minute winner all the more enjoyable for the fans packed into the Stade du Roudourou. 

It was their first league win since mid-January but one that has carried them to within just two points of the relegation play-off spot. This is a fantastic achievement considering they lost each of their opening six games this season. They have now kept consecutive clean sheets and while they lost four of the five games before their 0-0 draw with Bordeaux, these were all against very good teams so Guingamp have done well to make the most of their opportunities against teams of similar quality. Their last four games against teams in the current bottom eleven have seen Guingamp pick up two wins and two draws, so they have a great chance to continue that here against 14th placed Nantes. 

The Canaries have been improving in recent weeks with four wins in their last six games being a very welcome gift for Vahid Halilhodžić’s men. They still aren’t fully safe from the relegation battle but have given themselves a great opportunity to distance themselves from the rest of the trailing pack.

They have a ten point gap on Caen in the relegation play-off zone but a manager of Halilhodžić’s experience will know that it’s not over yet and they need to keep up their performance levels like they did against Bordeaux last week in their 1-0 win. They were unlucky to lose the match before it in Monaco as it was extremely tight. They will hope that they can use these improved results to help their away record though which hasn’t been the best; they have picked up just eleven points on the road, the 6th worst tally in the league. 

Guingamp have hosted some very tough opponents in their last few home games but they have done well to win half of their last six matches at the Roudourou. Their last home game saw them beat Angers and with the possibility of survival back in sight, we’re backing them to win this game. Nantes have improved but with them winning just two of their last nine away games, we’re predicting them to fall short but score in the match, as they have in six of their last seven outings. As a result, we’re backing Guingamp to win 2-1 as four of the last five clashes between these teams have seen over 2.5 goals.