Lorient – Troyes

Lorient and Troyes have both avoided relegation. How will they play against each other?

Lorient face Troyes in their round 38 encounter in the French championship. Both teams were considered among the main contenders to fight for survival, but have managed to secure a place in Ligue 1 for next season. Lorient occupy the last "safe" place - 17th - while Troyes are 15th. That said, there is only a two-point difference between them. Lorient gave up the fight a few rounds ago when they managed to beat Metz 1-0 at home. That effectively guaranteed Lorient safety, and they have since scored just one point in four rounds, drawing 0-0 with Bordeaux in the last round. Before that, Lorient lost to Rennes (0-5), Reims (1-2) and Marseille (0-3). In other words, Lorient have not only scored one point in four rounds, but also scored only one goal. Troyes are more responsible and resist their opponents more fiercely. In the previous round, Troyes lost 1-3 to Lens, but before that they drew with PSG (2-2), defeated Lille (3-0), gave battle to Nice and Clermont, even though they lost 0-1. So Troyes look more vibrant and motivated than Lorient in recent weeks. On the road, Troyes have won four times this season, drawn three times and lost 11 matches. However, this team has only lost twice in their last five away matches, and that to the powerful Nice and Monaco. So the overall statistics for the season are hardly worth considering here. The same Lorient, who won six matches at home, drew five times and lost seven times, lost in the last two games on home soil with a total score of 1-5. Troyes beat Lorient 2-0 in the first round. Interestingly, Lorient have failed to score a single goal against this opponent in the last five meetings between these teams. And four of those five have been won by Troyes. So for them, Lorient are a pretty comfortable opponent. Given that the match will not burden these rivals from a tournament point of view, we can expect the current trends to hold true.