French Ligue 1 Preview: Round 10

CelticKing · Oct 24, 2008

French Ligue 1 Preview: Round 10

It's 'Classico' weekend in France, which will see Marseille host PSG at the Stade Vélodrome. Other enticing fixtures include Bordeaux's visit to Nice, Rennes hosting in-form Le Mans and Saint-Étienne against Grenoble...

Saturday 24th October (kick-off times CET)

1900 AJ Auxerre vs. Olympique Lyon
1900 Le Havre AC vs. Valenciennes FC
1900 Lille OSC vs. SM Caen
1900 FC Lorient vs. FC Nantes
1900 OGC Nice vs. Girondins de Bordeaux
1900 Stade Rennais vs. Le Mans UC
2100 Toulouse FC vs. AS Monaco

Sunday 25th October

1700 AS Nancy-Lorraine vs. FC Sochaux-Montbéliard
1700 AS Saint-Étienne vs. Grenoble Foot38
2100 Olympique Marseille vs. Paris Saint-Germain

AJ Auxerre vs. Olympique Lyon

VS

Lyon visit the scene of their title winning exploits last season when they travel back to the Stade Abbé-Deschamps for the first time since lifting the Ligue 1 title there last May.

Although les Gones’ form has been distinctly mixed of late, Claude Puel’s side showed great strength of character to come from behind in midweek against Steaua to claim a 5-3 victory that keeps their Champions League hopes alive.

With the gap being closed at the summit of the league, they now have to focus on securing three points in Burgundy. There will be no Clerc, Mensah or Bodmer in the defence while goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is a doubt after picking up an injury on Tuesday night.

Auxerre also have a couple of injury concerns as Berthod is not yet ready to make his debut after a preseason injury while Kamel Chafni started running again this week but is still some distance from fitness. Quercia is doubtful.

Le Havre AC vs. Valenciennes FC

VS

Even so early in the season, this match will doubtless be a tense affair as both teams strive for a valuable victory. Le Havre have made a speciality of giving away points after taking the lead in matches while VA have just failed to hit their stride spectacularly in recent weeks, losing all five of their last matches.

While the on-field performances of both sides have been of a similar level, the work-rate of the physios at the respective clubs has been completely different. Le Havre will hope to have a full squad at their disposal.

Valenciennes, on the other hand, could be without a number of first team players. Khiter, Audel and Mater are all likely to be sidelines with knocks, although head coach Antoine Kombouaré is hopeful that Grondin and Belmadi will be able to return. Sebo is banned, sitting out his second of a three game suspension.

Lille OSC vs. SM Caen

VS

Unlucky not to beat Lyon last week, Lille’s next test to their good run of form will be a home fixture against mid-table Caen. Performing well at present, Rudy Garcia’s side are unbeaten since August in league play and have won three of their last four fixtures. Les Dogues will be without injured duo Frau and Tafforeau but should stick largely to the squad that held Lyon 2-2.

Caen’s form has not been so spectacularly strong yet they have continue to prove themselves to be a steady side. Led by the dangerous Steve Savidan in attack, Franck Dumas’ side are always capable of scoring goals and should have close to a full squad ready for the match in the north of France. Juan Eluchans will miss approximately two months due to injury, with Florentin expected to take his place in the first team squad.

FC Lorient vs. FC Nantes

VS

Lacking in luck with regards to the fitness of their players, Christian Gourcuff’s Lorient side find themselves in a very tricky position at this early stage of the season. Winless since the opening round of matches, les Merlus have generally been able to rely on strong home form to guide them to mid-table safety. Not so this season.

Gourcuff has a number of injury headaches coming into this match after it was announced that both Rafik Saifi and Fabien Audard will miss the next month of the season due to injuries. With Le Pen already missing from the first team pool for a similar length of time and Namouchi, Vahirua and Boutrouche not yet fit, it promises to be a testing time for the club’s resolve.

Character is certainly a quality not lacking in the Nantes team. Somehow they have managed to muddle their way to three league victories already this season despite rarely looking impressive. Elie Baup has les Canaris playing a little more fluently at present, although he will once again have to do without Abdoun, Tall, Capoue and Guillon for this fixture. Despite these injury concerns, he will see this as a chance of winning three points.

OGC Nice vs. Girondins de Bordeaux

VS

Although Nice are perhaps failing to spark in the same way they did in the early part of the season, Frédéric Antonetti’s men are still going along rather nicely in the league. Eighth spot would be a very pleasing position for les Aiglons to finish if they could maintain their form until the end of the season.

Saturday’s fixture against Bordeaux will prove one of their greatest tests this season but the Mediterranean club, who beat Monaco 2-1 away from home last weekend, could have a full squad. Letizi and Cid are doubts.

An energy and emotion sapping match in the Champions League against Cluj on Wednesday will have done Bordeaux few favours. Although les Girondins will be pleased with their victory, it was by no means easy. Blanc is threatening to rest the overworked Yoann Gourcuff amongst others, while Jussie and Saivet are injury concerns.

Stade Rennais vs. Le Mans UC

VS

When these sides met in the Coupe de la Ligue, the outcome was an exciting 2-2 draw that was won by the hosts on penalties. With both sides going well in the league, a similarly close match should be expected.

A scoreless draw in Auxerre last weekend was no way for Rennes to follow-up their smashing 3-0 victory over Lyon just two weeks before, so they will be looking for an improvement against MUC. Guy Lacombe will be without the presence of Asamoah Gyan due to a thigh injury, as well as Esteban and Marveaux, who underwent an operation earlier this week and could be out for some time.

Yves Bertucci, the Le Mans head coach, has no such injury concerns. Only central defender Saber Ben Frej could miss out for the Sarthe club, who are third in the league and possess the best away record of any side. Wins over Le Havre and Nancy in October have seen Le Mans cement their place as a top half club.

Toulouse FC vs. AS Monaco

VS

Saturday’s showcase match does not promise to be one packed with excitement. Toulouse’s style of football largely requires their opponents to come out and attack them whereas Ricardo’s Monaco team are hardly renowned for their offensive tendencies.

This time last week, Toulouse sat in second spot in Ligue 1 yet they have fallen a little after a defeat by Bordeaux, in which they rarely threatened their hosts. Daniel Braaten picked up a slight bump in that game and could well join third choice goalkeeper Olivier Blondel and sparsely used midfielder Paulo Cesar on the sidelines.

Monaco still have a whole crowd of players injured. Gakpé and Bakar are still absent from their offensive line while Bernardi and Zola are missing from the midfield. Defensively, Ricardo is shorn of Muratori and has been relying on youngster Nkoulou to continue to excel in the centre of defence. Defensive-midfielder Jean-Jacques Gosso should return to the starting eleven after a slight injury kept him out last weekend.

AS Nancy-Lorraine vs. FC Sochaux-Montbéliard

VS

Pablo Correa will look to Thursday night’s 3-0 UEFA Cup victory over Feyenoord to inspire his team. Although he elected to rotate his squad heavily, Nancy produced what was undoubtedly their best performance of the season to date to hammer their Dutch opponents.

Rotating back again is likely, with the likes of Hadji, Calvé and Brison all expected to feature. No new injury problems have been reported after Thursday’s clash, although Correa will still have to make-do without Chretien as well as a handful of squad players.

Injuries are one thing that Sochaux head coach Francis Gillot is an expert on at the present time but, sadly, winning is not. Les Lionceaux are the only winless side in the league through the first nine fixtures. Sochaux, who have not played badly despite the youthfulness of their squad, go into this match without Faty, Pichot or Maurice-Belay, who would all be likely starters.

AS Saint-Étienne vs. Grenoble Foot38

VS

Four wins in six matches in all competitions marks something of a resurgence for Saint-Étienne, who started the season in poor form. After a resounding 3-1 victory over FC København on Thursday evening, Laurent Roussey’s side will aim to maintain their recent good run of form in the league against Grenoble.

With a busy schedule until Christmas, Sainté have run into a handful of injury problems at just the wrong time. Dernis picked up a knock late-on against the Danish outfit and must be considered a little doubtful while Ilan, Dabo and Landrin are all expected to miss Sunday’s fixture. With Bayal Sall still banned, rotation will be something of an art-form for Sainté’s boss.

Sunday’s opponents, Grenoble, have few such congestion problems and can play their strongest side on a weekly basis. Mecha Bazdarevic will keep the midweek visit of Lille in mind. With only one win in five, the coach will see it as important that Grenoble, who will miss defender Manfroi for six months, get back to winning ways soon.

Olympique Marseille vs. Paris Saint-Germain

VS

Undoubtedly the most eye-catching fixture of the weekend will see PSG travel to Marseille for the ‘Classico’ – French football’s most eagerly awaited fixture. Pitting south against north, many of the home fans see this match as a battle for supremacy on a cultural level.

Both teams suffered bad defeats in European competition in midweek yet both went about it in different ways. Marseille’s strongest side slumped woefully in the Netherlands, where they were hammered 3-0 by PSV, while Paul Le Guen sent out a young team to be lambs to the slaughter against Schalke.

Neither side has great injury problems approaching this fixture. Marseille miss Tyrone Mears while PSG will be without Giuly and Arnaud, who was injured on Thursday evening and will miss around six months of the season. Paul Le Guen’s men also have the advantage of being physically much fresher than l’OM.
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French Ligue 1 Preview: Round 10

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French Ligue 1 Preview: Round 10

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