Lorient will have breathed a sigh of relief as Terem Moffi wasn't called up for AFCON. Vincent Le Goff is fit again but Fabien Lemoine and Jeremy Morel remain doubts. Against the leaders, Lorient did well to grind out a result playing a flat 4-4-2; that could be an option here as well. The visitors will miss a quartet of key players owing to AFCON. With Paul Bernardoni having been loaned to Saint-Étienne, look for Danijel Petkovic to start in goal. Nabil Bentaleb, who has joined as a free agent, could be an option in central midfield.
Lorient have seen under 2.5 goals in their last 5 matches against Angers in all competitions. Lorient have failed to win their last 12 matches (Ligue 1). There have been under 2.5 goals scored in 6 of Lorient's last 7 home games (Ligue 1). There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 5 of Angers's last 6 away games (Ligue 1).
Les Merlus haven't played a match in nearly a month, having been eliminated in the Coupe de France before their league match at the weekend was cancelled, and rust could be a factor here. Angers will miss their AFCON absentees, not least of all Boufal, but should have enough about them to scrape a win, even if they've had a similar spell away from the pitch to their opponents. 1:2