Ligue 1: Matchday 12

Lets start with the obvious– what happened to Matchday 11?  Well, remember when France didn’t qualify for the World Cup as first in their group and were forced to participate in the play-off games?  Well, in a bid to support international players in Ligue 1, matchday 11 was pushed back to December to avoid fatigue.  And voila– that is how we are at round 12.  This decision was generally supported and applauded by the parties involved– especially Domenech.  Funny how worried he is considering they are just playing “England B” (definitely his words, not mine– I am Irish afterall!).

Now on to the mini previews…

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Auxerre vs. Montpellier
Girondins de Bordeaux vs. Monaco
Boulogne-Sur-Mer vs. Nancy
Grenoble vs. Lille
Racing Club de Lens vs. Lorient
Olympique de Marseille vs. Toulouse
Saint-Etienne vs. Olympique Lyonnais

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Nice vs. Le Mans
Stade Rennais vs. Valenciennes
Sochaux vs. Paris Saint-Germain

Auxerre vs. Montpellier

Auxerre approach this fixture in good form, having crushed Rennes, Bordeaux and Lille in their past three league matches (tough stuff!).  Despite having a hard time scoring earlier in the season, they seemed to have found their shooting boots as of late.  The questions are:  How tired are the players after these previous exhausting matches?  Are they burned out?  It shall be interesting to see…

However, they will be without Alexandre Licata (purchased from Monaco this summer), Julien Quercia and Cedric Hengbart (banned).  The Licata absence is annoying but not a real threat considering he hasn’t been fit enough all season to play– so they know they can win without them.

Montpellier, on the other hand, are experiencing a more serious injury problem.  Their key player, Alberto Costa, will face a late fitness test tomorrow.  Montpellier have had a great season thus far- they’ve only lost twice.  Upon closer inspection their vulnerabilities become more obvious– their dependence on Costa, both of their losses are on the road and they had their cookies handed to them last weekend at Rennes.

Girondins de Bordeaux vs. Monaco

Despite having an European game next week, don’t expect to see any squad rotation in Bordeaux’s side this weekend.  Blanc has been praised in the media for “respecting the league” by fielding strong squads whenever possible.  Give that the last time they did major squad rotation was their defeat to St. Ettiene, I’m willing to go out on a limb and assert that this is less of our respect and more out of necessity (Blanc really is the darling of the French media, isn’t he?).

Bordeaux face a tough test against a Monaco side that have gained strength and confidence over the last few weeks.  Their win over Marseille, the lack of serious and chronic injuries and the resurgence of Nene have made this team a real title contender this season.

Check out the Bordeaux Offside or the Monaco Offside for more extensive previews.

Boulogne-Sur-Mer vs. Nancy

I feel like every week I write these, I always say “things can’t get worse for Boulogne,”  Amazingly, every week thus far things really have gotten worse.  So this week, as a courtesy to the newly promoted team,  I’m not going to say that (though read between the lines!)

Last week, Boulogne put up a tough fight against Monaco, despite succumbing to a 3-1 defeat.  This week the manager lost the services of Blayac for five weeks.  Daniel Moreira and Gregory Thil, the club’s other two primary strikers, were already ruled out due to previous injuries. Kevin Das Neves is banned, while goal.com is reporting that young goalkeeper Ibrahim Kone was disciplined for showing late for training earlier this week and may lose his first team berth.  Ugh, I’m such a sucker for the underdog– and I’m hoping for a Boulogne victory this weekend!

Nancy appear to have some of the luck Boulogne so desperately need– their injury list is shrinking. Michael Chretien remains sidelined with an Achilles tendon worry and Florian Marange is also out. Goalkeeper Gennaro Bracigliano is hopeful of making a return to first team action.  These returns to the squad will undoubtedly soothe the anxiety of the team, but Nancy haven’t looked so hot this season.  They barely managed to beat Grenoble (who haven’t won a single point this season) with a late goal (penalty) last weekend.

Grenoble vs. Lille

The only team I have more empathy for than Boulogne is Grenoble.  Poor pointless Grenoble.  While most teams dream of setting records– Grenoble have only managed to put themselves in the position to achieve the type of record teams want to avoid setting:  most consecutive losses in a season.

And life isn’t getting any easier for them– their injury list just keeps growing.  Feghouli won’t play again this year and team captain Batles is out for at least a month.

But, I don’t expect Lille to be able to play this game without a hitch.  They’ve managed to find some team synergy in Europe, but haven’t been able to translate that success to their domestic games.  They are only a few slots above Grenoble above the relegation zone and will be without Tulio de Melo and Nicolas Pleastan through injury.

Racing Club de Lens vs. Lorient

Lens is already going without goals for the most part (only 2 goals since August) and if the rumors are true they may also be without a head coach soon.  It has been suggested that Jean-Guy Wallemme of Lens will be fired if his team don’t win this weekend.

While I’m sure these fears will be a dark cloud of the team’s head this weekend– there appears to be some light shining through as the team has very few notable injuries.  Eric Chelle has a broken nose and Samba Sow has been weakened by a virus (unconfirmed but rumored to be the Swine flu).

Lorient’s level of play only seems to be rising over the past few weeks– with the exception of last week’s 1-0 loss against Sochaux (who are admittedly playing really well thus far this season).  Their only serious injury is Jeremy Morel who they will need to learn how to play without until the New Year (at least).

Check out Xavier’s Lens Offside for a longer preview.

Olympique de Marseille vs. Toulouse

Check out my preview on The Offside-Marseille here.  Be sure to check out The Offside-Toulouse for Dave’s preview.

St. Etienne vs. Olympique Lyonnais

Unlike most of the big leagues around the world, France lacks a true inter-city rivalry.  There are only two games that come close to meeting this definition and one of them is this match between Lyon and St. Etienne (the other being Lens and Lille).  Though this clash is more of a regional derby than a city derby, fans can expect to see all the things that make derbies so entertaining– ferocious playing, hostility and flaring tempers.

St. Etienne has been the opposite of consistent this season– they have managed great wins of Bordeaux and embarrassing defeats to Boulogne.

Lyon have also been inconsistently lately– beat Liverpool at Anfield, but losing to both Sochaux (2-0) and Nice (4-1, really embarrassing…).

Also, be sure to check out The Offside-Lyon for a more extensive preview here.

EDIT: Also check out Ben’s preview at the new Saint-Etienne Offside -Thomas

Nice vs. Le Mans

Nice will be hoping to continue their dream performance last week at Lyon, which saw them destroy the former French champions 4-1.  Their counterattack was perfection– but it is questionable if they can sustain such momentum, especially against a scrappy team like Le Mans.

On the injury front, Nice will be comforted by the return of Mahamane Traore and Eric Mouloungui, leaving centre-back Cid as their only injury absentee. Emerse Fae is still banned.

Le Mans are without serious injury concerns– but their centre back Cerdan will face a late fitness test due to a calf injury.  Despite this relatively healthy squad, they have only managed to pick up 1 point in 10 games.

Stade Rennais vs. Valenciennes

Rennes fans were energized by last week’s performance against Montpellier, and they are hoping that the team can maintain this momentum this weekend against Valenciennes.  Rennes has lacked consistency, but has been able to display some stellar performances this season.  The question remains– which Rennes will be on the field this weekend?

Rennes defense is strong and healthy, but their offense will be weakened by the absence of Moussa Sow (1 month) and Jerome Leroy (2 months).  Jimmy Briand has commenced training with the team again but is not expected to return this weekend.

Valenciennes, the Cinderella story thus far this season, have managed to defy serious injuries to their squad for hard-fought victories in their last 3 games (including against OM).  Will they be able to perform another miracle this weekend or have they finally run out of gas?  Sitting currently ninth, they have been scoring some great goals, but it will be interesting to see how they react against one of the league’s strongest defensive teams.

Sochaux vs. Paris Saint-Germain

PSG have received a boost this week (and they needed one!) as their players which were diagnosed with the Swine Flu last week resumed training with the team.  No official word yet on if these players are expected to play this weekend.  PSG have had a rough couple of weeks- for more details catch up with Thomas’s post here.

Sochaux, on the other hand, appear to be going from strength to strength as they have cranked out two tough wins in a row against Lyon and Lorient.  They will be a tough test for PSG this week as Sochaux’s manager has a full, healthy squad to choose from.

Also, be sure to check out The Offside-PSG for their preview.