Lorient vs Evian Thonon Gaillard preview - Coutadeur confident in Lorient

Lorient were trounced 4-0 by Lyon in midweek but midfielder Mathieu Coutadeur believes the result could be a "blessing in disguise" ahead of Saturday's Ligue 1 encounter against Evian at the Stade du Moustoir.

Coach Sylvain Ripoll has come under pressure as Wednesday's rout made it three defeats in a row for 17th-placed Lorient, but Coutadeur, who could make his 200th Ligue 1 appearance on Saturday, insists all is well in Les Merlus camp.

"Collectively, we get along well," he told the club's website, fclweb.fr.

"The group lives together well but it is not sufficient at present. The three losses show our deficiencies.

"We challenge individually and find a collective trust. We must give the best of ourselves and look in the mirror. I hope this will make us react. That may be a blessing in disguise."

Victory against Evian would go a long way to silencing Ripoll's critics but Coutadeur is aware that Pascal Dupraz's side will be tough to beat, especially after they picked up their first league win of the season against Lens on Wednesday.

"Evian will play with confidence following their first win of the season against Lens. They will not be afraid." the 28-year-old midfielder reflected.

"We put ourselves in this situation and it is up to us to get ourselves out of it. We know that Evian is a difficult team to play. We must focus on what we can do."

Evian might have returned to winning ways but head coach Dupraz is not getting too carried away as his side are still bottom of the standings with just four points from seven matches.

"It's our first win of the season but we can't crow about it as we still have only four points," he told ligue1.com.

"The hard part has been confirmed," Dupraz added on the club's website, etgfc.com. "We need to produce a positive performance against Lorient, even though they are a team that plays very well at home."