Promoted Nancy are on a roll, and bottom side Laval keep leaking goals
Three straight wins have lifted Nancy into fifth place, a remarkable position for a promoted side, and their 2-1 at Annecy last Friday was settled by a late own goal. Laval travel to the Marcel-Picot in the opposite mood. They are bottom with six points, without a win in seven league games, and have conceded 20 goals in nine matches. Their last outing, a 3-3 at home to Clermont, needed two goals in the final minutes to rescue a point from 3-0 down.
“Manifestement, je me suis trompé.” – Laval coach David Vignes on his switch to a back five against Clermont (“Clearly, I got it wrong.”)
Predicted lineups: Nancy vs Laval
Nancy can call on Kouroufia Kébé again after he served his one-match ban at Annecy; he has been one of the best ball-winners in the division. Laval are without Julien Maggiotti, who is serving a two-match ban for a red card at Pau, and goalkeeper Mamadou Samassa has a minor muscle injury, so Maxime Hautbois is likely to start. On-loan striker Oumar Konaté was withdrawn hours before the Clermont game over a work-permit issue, and it is not yet clear whether he will be cleared for Friday. Both XIs are my best estimate.
Nancy Team News & Preview
Oswald Tanchot’s side have turned a difficult start into a strong one. After defeats to Nantes and Reims, they won 4-3 at Rodez, beat Guingamp 1-0 at home and then won at Annecy, where Ilyes Housni scored from the spot before a late own goal decided it. It is their first run of three straight league wins since 2021.
The numbers underneath the results are solid. Nancy have conceded only eight goals in nine games and allow just 0.82 xG per match, the platform for a side that rarely gets opened up. At home they have lost only to Montpellier and Reims, two of the stronger teams in the division.
What works for or against Nancy
- Three league wins in a row.
- Eight goals conceded in nine games and 0.82 xG against per match.
- Kébé is available again after suspension.
- Only 1.2 goals scored per game.
Laval Team News & Preview
The comeback against Clermont showed some spirit, with substitute Aboubakary Kanté scoring twice in the last 20 minutes, but it also underlined the problem. Laval were 3-0 down before they reacted, and Vignes admitted afterwards that his change to a back five had not worked. Before that game he had already called 17 goals conceded in eight matches far too many.
Laval keep the ball well, averaging 57% possession, and they create a reasonable number of chances. What they cannot do is defend: 20 goals conceded, 2.2 per game, and no clean sheet all season. Without Maggiotti and with a back-up goalkeeper likely, that is a lot to fix in one trip to Lorraine.
What works for or against Laval
- Bottom of the table and seven league games without a win.
- 20 goals conceded and no clean sheet this season.
- Maggiotti is suspended and Samassa is injured.
- Scored three times against Clermont, two of them in the last few minutes.
Nancy vs Laval Odds
Match Result
Double Chance
Handicap
Over/Under
Both Teams to Score
Half-Time/Full-Time
Nancy vs. Laval Stats Comparison
Show Recent Results
Nancy vs. Laval Form Guide
Nancy Form, Stats & Data
Nancy have a very healthy xG difference: 1.72 for and 0.82 against per game. They have actually scored fewer than their chances suggest, so the attack may still have more to give.
Laval Form, Stats & Data
Laval’s underlying numbers are not those of a bottom side: their xG for and against are almost level. The gap between 1.57 xG against and 2.22 goals conceded per game points to defensive and goalkeeping errors.
Nancy vs Laval: Prediction & Betting Tip
I like Nancy to win this. They are in form, defend well, and face a bottom side that has conceded in every game this season and is missing the suspended Maggiotti and its first-choice goalkeeper. Nancy’s home defeats came against Montpellier and Reims, not against sides in Laval’s position.
The counter-argument is that Laval’s chance creation is better than their results, and Nancy do not score many. A tight 1-1 is possible if Nancy are wasteful, and Laval showed against Clermont that they keep going. I think the defensive gap between the teams is too big, though, and I expect Nancy’s run to continue.
My main bet is Nancy to win at 1.60 with Winz, and I expect 2-0.