Sports Mole previews Wednesday’s Ligue 1 clash between Nantes and Monaco, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Seeking consecutive Ligue 1 triumphs for the first time all season, Nantes return to Stade de la Beaujoire on Wednesday for a date with Monaco on matchday 10.
Over the weekend, Les Canaris hung onto a 2-1 victory over Paris FC, while Monaco claimed a 1-0 triumph in their home outing with Toulouse.
Match preview
At last, something good came the way of Nantes on matchday nine, with this side ending a five-game domestic winless run over on Friday.
On Wednesday, they can claim successive league wins for the first time since August 2024, when they won their second and third matches of that season.
It has been well over a year since they last lost a league fixture when leading at the half (3-1 versus Lyon in April 2024), with Luis Castro’s men dropping points only once in that scenario during this campaign (2-2 draw with Toulouse).
They have points in nine consecutive top-flight outings at Stade de la Beaujoire when finding the back of the net, winning in two of those previous three instances.
With nine points after nine matchdays, Nantes have accumulated one point fewer than they had at this stage of the previous campaign.
La Maison Jaune are unbeaten in their previous five home games against Monaco across all competitions, drawing 2-2 in this exact fixture last season.
Matchday nine was a grind for Monaco, but they got the job done as Sebastien Pocognoli earned his first victory as manager since replacing Adi Hutter.
This week, they can end a three-match winless run away from home across all competitions, with this team outscored by a combined margin of 8-3 over that stretch.
Monaco have conceded just one opening half goal as the visitors in Ligue 1 this season but have only netted once in the first 45 minutes of an away match themselves.
Scoring goals has been a problem for them away from home, with only four of their 18 domestically this season coming outside Stade Louis II.
A defeat on Wednesday would mark their third already in five Ligue 1 away fixtures this season, something which did not happen until matchday 18 in 2024-25.
Les Monegasques have points in 14 consecutive top-flight affairs against Nantes but have not beaten them at Stade de la Beaujoire since January 2021 (2-1).
Nantes Ligue 1 form:
Monaco Ligue 1 form:
Monaco form (all competitions):
Team News
We are unlikely to see Francis Coquelin feature for Nantes on Wednesday as he recovers from a hamstring strain, Johann Lepenant remains doubtful due to a knock and Mayckel Lahdo is still recovering from a shoulder injury.
On matchday nine, there was just one newcomer in their starting 11, Y with Youssef El-Arabi, coming in for Mostafa Mohamed in a front three.
El Arabi picked up his team-leading second goal of the season versus Paris FC, and Matthis Abline netted his first of 2025-26 just a few minutes before the interval.
At Monaco, Paul Pogba suffered another minor setback in his return and will be doubtful for this one, Vanderson and Eric Dier are out with hamstring problems and Lukas Hradecky may miss one more match because a knee issue.
An adductor injury will keep Denis Zakaria on the sidelines for this match, while Lamine Camara is at least a few weeks away from returning after hurting his ankle.
A third-minute strike courtesy of Mohammed Salisu was all Les Monegasques would need to collect maximum points against Toulouse as Philipp Kohn made two stops for his first clean sheet of the new Ligue 1 campaign.
Nantes possible starting lineup:
Lopes; Centonze, Awaziem, Cozza, Leroux; Mwanga, Hyeok-kyu, Tabibou; Abline, Mohamed, Guirassy
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Kohn; Teze, Salisu, Mawissa; Diatta, Golovin, Coulibaly, Ouattara; Minamino, Akliouche; Biereth
We say: Nantes 1-2 Monaco
Monaco have netted multiple times in six successive matches against Nantes, and we expect them to do just enough to grind out a win at La Maison Jaune, as the latter do not boast as much attacking depth.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
No Data Analysis info