Reims vs Bordeaux preview - Bordeaux bidding for top spot

Posted Thursday, October 02, 2014 by PA

Bordeaux will move top of Ligue 1 if they can beat struggling Reims at Stade August Delaune on Friday night.

Unbeaten in their last three games, Bordeaux can overhaul leaders Marseille by toppling a team reeling from two comprehensive defeats.

Reims lost 5-0 to Marseille and then 3-0 against Metz, which suggests they face a sizeable task halting a team that has made a major early-season statement of intent.

Reims coach Jean-Luc Vasseur admits his players are frustrated by recent results, but he also believes it can provided added motivation in terms of attempting to turn the form-book upside down.

"We will play a team that is enjoying success and which is stuffed full of ruthless efficiency," Vasseur told www.stade-de-reims.com.

"Bordeaux are a team that is very effective, and we need to perform like we did against Toulouse and Lorient (Reims won 2-0 and 1-0 respectively).

"The team has the capacity to reproduce these victories. Now, we're a little hurt, but we cannot become shrinking violets."

Bordeaux, meanwhile, have confirmed that captain Lamine Sane will be sidelined for five to seven weeks after undergoing knee surgery.

And German defender Diego Contento is another absentee from the Reims clash due to a muscle injury.

Following Les Girondins' 2-1 home victory over Rennes, head coach Willy Sagnol told L'Equipe: "The players deserve what they have earned, and that is 17 points.

"All 17 points have been earned because we have the right mindset, and because nobody has cheated.

"We have not been perfect, far from it, but generally it is having the right mindset that guarantees results."