ISTRES, France (Interstat) — Istres and Creteil-Lusitanos meet Friday in a National 2 clash at 8 p.m. local time, with both teams looking to build momentum as the season enters its final stretch.

The matchup carries added weight after Istres earned a 2-1 victory when the teams last met Jan. 30. That result snapped a run where Creteil-Lusitanos had held the upper hand in recent seasons.

Creteil-Lusitanos enters on a two-match losing streak. The visitors fell 2-0 at Andrezieux on April 24, their second consecutive defeat after a 3-0 loss at Cannes on April 17. Overall, Creteil-Lusitanos has struggled for consistency, going 3-5-2 in its past 10 matches dating to Feb. 7, with the lone bright spot a 1-0 home win against Hyeres on April 10.

The team’s offense has been particularly erratic. Creteil-Lusitanos has been shut out four times in those 10 matches while scoring more than one goal only once — a 2-1 win at Toulon on Feb. 7. Defensively, the visitors have kept three clean sheets in that span but have conceded multiple goals in four of the past seven contests.

Istres, meanwhile, enters on an uptick. The home side drew 2-2 at Grasse on April 25, extending its unbeaten run to two matches after a 1-0 victory at FC 93 Bobigny-Bagnolet-Gagny on April 17. That result ended a rough patch where Istres had gone 1-3-2 in its previous six games.

The home side’s form has been defined by defensive resilience punctuated by occasional offensive outbursts. Istres recorded a 4-0 win against Frejus St-Raphael on April 3, its most lopsided victory of the season, but has otherwise managed just seven goals across its other nine matches since mid-February.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 1-1 draw, a result that would mirror the teams’ shared tendency toward tight, low-scoring affairs.

For Creteil-Lusitanos, the challenge is to rediscover the formula that produced results earlier in the campaign. The visitors have scored first in only three of their past 10 matches and have struggled to respond when trailing.

Istres will aim to exploit home advantage and build on its recent improvement. The team has posted four clean sheets in 10 matches and has shown an ability to grind out results when not at its best.

Both sides face quick turnarounds. Creteil-Lusitanos hosts Limonest on May 9, while Istres travels to Nimes the same day. Friday’s result could provide crucial momentum heading into those fixtures.

The match is scheduled to kick off at 8 p.m. local at Stade Parsemain.