Looking forward to Strasbourg

From their last six encounters with Strasbourg, Bordeaux have lost four. Nevertheless, the Girondins should be encouraged by the memory of their most recent meeting. At the Meinau stadium on 20 December, the Brazilian duo of Pablo and Otavio fired Bordeaux to a 2-0 victory.

This weekend's visitors have lost their last two games in Ligue 1 : against Rennes (0-1) and Lens (1-2). But the last time they lost three in a row was November 2020.  Bordeaux are currently 13th in the league with 36 points, while Strasbourg are two rungs below in 15th place.  

Since joining Bordeaux in the summer of 2019, Hwang Ui-Jo has scored 15 goals, almost twice as many as his nearest rivals Jimmy Briand and Josh Maja, who have scored eight apiece over the same period. For the 2020-21 season so far, Hwang is on nine goals and two assists, with eight games left to play.

After a successful week with the Swiss national side, Loris Benito will not be back in action straight away against Strasbourg. After picking up a yellow card against Montpellier, Loris' suspended one-match ban has been reapplied by the league's disciplinary committee. A number of Girondins are currently at risk of a suspension:  Hatem Ben Arfa until this weekend (M31). Toma Basic until Saint-Etienne (M32). Yacine Adli until Rennes (M35). Jean-Michaël Seri is at risk of suspension if he picks up one more yellow card between now and the penultimate Ligue 1 game against Lens (M37).