Ligue 1: Matchday 13

By: Sarah | November 7th, 2009

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It’s been a busy week with the European games, but matchday 13 is already here! It’s already November and the Ligue 1 table has already begun to take shape. Bordeaux sits on top of the table with a two point lead– but Lyon is snapping at their heels in second place. Monaco and Montpellier are a surprising third and fourth place. Marseille sits in 7th place but have a game in hand with the Classico still to play.

Ligue 1 Table (as of November 6th)

2009/2010 French Ligue 1
CLUB	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
Bordeaux	11	8	1	2	13	25
Lyon	11	7	2	2	6	23
AS Monaco	11	7	0	4	5	21
Montpellier	11	6	2	3	3	20
AJ Auxerre	11	6	2	3	2	20
Valenciennes	11	6	1	4	7	19
Marseille	10	5	3	2	7	18
Lorient	11	5	3	3	4	18
AS Nancy Lorraine	11	5	2	4	1	17
Paris Saint-Germain	10	4	4	2	6	16
Stade Rennes	11	4	4	3	6	16
Toulouse	11	4	3	4	3	15
Sochaux	11	5	0	6	-5	15
Nice	11	4	2	5	-7	14
Lille	11	3	4	4	-2	13
St Etienne	11	3	1	7	-6	10
Boulogne	11	2	3	6	-8	9
Lens	11	2	3	6	-10	9
Le Mans	11	2	2	7	-7	8
Grenoble	11	0	0	11	-18	0

While there is still grouping at the top, several teams at the bottom of the table are very close to being at the point of no return. Now, let’s look at what we have to look forward to this weekend.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Le Mans vs. Auxerre
Lorient vs. Boulogne-Sur-Mer
Monaco vs. Grenoble
Nancy vs. Saint-Etienne
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Nice
Valenciennes vs. Montpellier
Sochaux vs. Racing Club de Lens

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Lille vs. Girondins de Bordeaux
Toulouse vs. Stade Rennais
Olympique Lyonnais vs. Olympique de Marseille

Le Mans vs. Auxerre

Le Mans, though not playing bad football, are second from the bottom of the table (only above pointless Grenoble). But, is playing good football worth anything if you aren’t winning points? Apparently not– as Paulo Duarte’s job is on the line this weekend.

Auxerre, on the other hand, have managed to win both points and play great football over the last few months. The surprise of the season, Auxerre has arguably been one of the most consistent and entertaining teams in the league this year. Jelen will be hoping to extend his scoring streak, having already scored four goals in two games.

Even if they were playing against a lesser team, winning this game won’t be easy for Le Mans who will be without several of their key players. Duarte can’t pick Geder (suspension) or Fredrik Stromstat (injury), but he will be glad to see the return of Gregroy Cerdan this weekend. Though not to the same degree, Auxerre are also experiencing some casualties– Julien Quercia is nearing fitness, but Alexandre Licata and Kevin Lejeune remain injured.

Lorient vs. Boulogne-Sur-Mer

Lorient, who managed a terrific start to the season, have seen their performance drop over the past few weeks. They haven’t managed a win in their last two games– having lost to Sochaux and only managing a draw with Lens last weekend. Christian Gourcuff will be hoping to rejuvenate their season against Boulogne– though he will have to do it without Morel (adductor).

The newly promoted Boulogne is again facing a potential nightmare– with a significant percentage of their players sidelined with injuries. While these injuries have caused holes all over the field– the strikers and offensive-minded players seem to be the largest problem. In addition to the injuries, Boulogne will also be without Damien Marcq who is suspended for accumulation of yellow cards. But, the team has two sources of hope this matchday– Matt Moussilou who had a bright performance last weekend and the return of Kevin Das Neves.

Monaco vs. Grenoble

Monaco dropped the ball last weekend when they had the chance to top the league chart. Though their recent defeat to Bordeaux was a let-down, it should be a great source of motivation in this game. If they want to restart their winning ways, they will have to do it without Nene (suspension), though they will welcome back Eidur Gudjohnsen and Juan-Pablo Pino

Grenoble, who remain pointless for the entire season, will look to start their season (better late than never, right?). And it won’t be a moment too soon– if they lose this game they will equal the worst ever run in a single Ligue 1 season. The team’s injury list continues to grow– strikers Danijel Ljuboja and Pierre Boya were both withdrawn injured last weekend, adding to the club’s already horrible injury worries. David Jemmali is suspended.

Nancy vs. Saint-Etienne

Nancy are in the midst of a good spell at the moment– having won four of their last six games– including their last two fixtures. However, St. Etienne will be much harder competition than Grenoble and Boulogne, especially after their hard defeat last weekend against Lyon.

If they are to defeat St. Etienne, they will do so without some of their key players including Hadji (injury), goalkeeper Bracigliano (injury), Michael Chretien and Florian Marange.

Sainte’s injury problems are far worse. Their injury list now includes Cedric Varrault, Ilan has overcome swine flu and Boubacar Sanogo could also be available.

Paris Saint-Germain vs. Nice

Click here for a full preview… from Goal.com

Valenciennes vs. Montpellier

This game between two of that biggest surprises in Ligue should be exciting. Both teams have managed to win while displaying flair, consistency and passion. Something that has alluded some of the “big” teams in Ligue 1.

Valenciennes will be feeling confident after their 3-0 mauling of Rennes last weekend. Fans should be looking forward to seeing their prolific and dangerous attacking unit– but also their defense, which has been improving the last couple of games.

Though starting our brightly, Montpellier have somewhat faded the last couple of games against Rennes and Auxerre. Look for them to put their season back of track. But, they are without Nenad Dzodic and Alberto Costa due to suspensions– so winning will be tough!

Sochaux vs. Racing Club de Lens

Click here for a full preview…from Goal.com

Check back later today for Sunday’s previews!