Ligue 1 Matchday 23 - Friday and Saturday matches

Marseille V Angers - Kicks off at 20:00 - Friday 4th February - Live on BT Sport 3

Marseille are coming off a big win with their 2-0 victory at Lens and a disappointing loss at Lyon. The victory at Lens was their fifth away win in a row all of which have resulted in clean sheets. Les Marseillais generally played well against a very good Lens team but midfielder Mateo Guendouzi put in a particularly impressive performance. The 22 year old had his usual energy, broke up play well and was constantly looking to get L’OM forward. It was the Arsenal loanee that won the penalty on 34 minutes then put new signing Cedric Bakambu away for the second goal. An all round great performance. I was completely unimpressed with the signing of free agent Bakambu. However the 30 year old striker came off the bench after 75 minutes and scored two minutes later. He showed good pace and composure to latch on to Guendouzi’s through ball and and finish at the near post. A great start to life at Marseille.

Marseille also beat Montpellier on penalties to progress to the next round of the Coupe De France last weekend. That victory also saw a goal for striker Arkadiusz Milik. That was his first for some time so could kick off a period of good form for him. Tuesdays 2-1 loss at Lyon though sees Marseille in third when a win would have put them up to second. They really need a win here to keep the pressure on Les Nicois. Les Olympiens are only missing two players - winger Konrad De La Fuente is injured whilst Bamba Dieng is still at the AFCON with Senegal.

Angers have been on a roller coaster run of form since the start of November. Until that point they’d only lost three league games. Since then they have lost four, drawn three and won three. The concern for them is that two of their recent losses have come against teams below them in the table; Clermont and bottom of the table Saint Etienne. I was surprised that Angers players loaned to Saint Etienne, Sadio Thioub and Paul Bernardoni, were allowed to play against their parent club. An embarrassing Coupe De France defeat at National 3 (5th tier) Linas-Montlhéry won’t help confidence. That being said Angers remain hard to beat and have been missing key players due to the African Cup of Nations. Enzo Ebosse and Stephane Bahoken are still their with Cameroon. Having Azzedine Ounahi and particularly Sofiane Boufal (5 goals 3 assists) back will be a huge boost for Les Scoistes. Defender Romain Thomas and young striker Mohamed Ali Cho are doubts with back injuries. With no new signings arriving due to lack of funds it could be a tough second half of the season for Gerald Baticle’s side. The former Auxerre player has got a lot out of his side this season and they sit in a healthy 12th position. A point here would be a great result for them and slow them from sinking down the table.

French Footy prediction: Marseille 2 - Angers 1

Saint Etienne V Montpellier- Kicks off at 16:00 GMT Saturday 5th February

Saint Etienne have been shackled to the foot of the table for some time. Pascal Dupraz took over from the beleaguered manager Claude Puel in December and injected some enthusiasm without winning a point in his first three league games in charge. Then on on the 26th January his new side managed a narrow victory at Angers for just their third league win of the season. The win was significant because it was managed without four important players who were at the AFCON including Wahbi Khazri. All are back and available for this match other than Yvan Neyou and Harold Moukoudi. Dupraz has also overseen a couple of cup wins over lower league opponents but disastrously, given the club’s financial issues, his team were knocked out last weekend by National 2 side Bergerac. At least Dupraz has brought in some new players. Experienced centre back Eliaquim Mangala signed as a free agent and could be in line for his first appearance here. Les Verts were on the lookout for an attacker and there were reports they were interested in veteran striker Loic Remy. The former Marseille, Chelsea and Lille forward currently plays for Turkish club Cayjur Rizespor but a deal didn't materialise. We may see him at Sainte in the future if he manages to cancel his current contract. Saint Etienne have midfielder and captain MahdI Camara suspended for this game whilst defenders Saidou Sow and Gabriel Silva, midfielder Bakary Sako and forward Romain Hamouma are all injured. The win at Angers and the new players have not been enough to unshackle Les Verts from the bottom of the League. Maybe though the bolts have loosened slightly.

After a six match winning run in league and cup Montpellier had a little wobble with two surprising defeats to a weakened Strasbourg team and Troyes. They got back on form with a thrilling 3-2 win against Bordeaux with a late goal coming from young Englishman Stephy MavididI. The attacking midfielder capped a fine performance with a convincing right foot finish in the 91st minute. He’d already had a hand in the first goal for Elye Wahi (5 goals) and scored the second. That’s 8 goals and 3 assists for Mavididi this season.

The Coupe De France defeat at Marseille last weekend was a disappointment but they were missing players in striker Valere Germain (4 goals 2 assists) and midfielders Junior Sambia and Teji Savanier (5 goals 6 assists). The duo will miss this one too due to suspension. Montpellier could do with a point at least here to keep them in the hunt for a fiercely contested European place.

French Footy prediction: Saint Etienne 1 - Montpellier 1

Monaco V Lyon - Kicks off at 20:00 GMT Saturday 5th February - Live on BT Sport ESPN

Here we have two teams with very disappointing league form after finishing 3rd and 4th last season respectively. Monaco are 8th with Lyon just one point and place above them. Les Monegasques lost their last league game 3-2 at Montpellier after conceding an injury time goal. They had equalised twice with goals from Wissam Ben Yedder and young Brazilian full back Vanderson. Veteran Ben Yedder is now Ligue 1‘s top scorer with 13 goals whilst January signing Vanderson scored his first goal for the club in his third match.

Defenders Djibril Sidibe and Benoit Badiashile are still injured and forward Myron Boadu is a doubt with a hamstring injury. Worryingly goalkeepers Alexander Nubel and Radoslaw Majecki are both out. Former Arsenal and Sunderland keeper Vito Mannone could start here.

Lyon are unbeaten in eight games in all competitions but have sold one of their best players in midfielder Bruno Guimarães. The Brazilian has been so important to Les Lyonnais and his understanding with playmaker Lucas Paqueta has been the driving force behind anything positive for them. Whilst Lyon’s league form has been poor by their standards they are doing well in Europe. They qualified easily from their group as leaders and could go much further. Selling one of their best assets half way through the season initially seemed risky. However 48 million Euros is a decent sum and they have brought in two good players to counterbalance the squad. Brest playmaker Romain Faivre was signed for 15 million euros. The 23 year old is having a great season (7 goals 5 assists).

For Brest he often played in a similar role to Paqueta so it will be interesting to see if he starts on the right of midfield for Peter Bosz's side. Lyon also managed to bring back former midfielder Tanguy Ndombele on loan which does represent good business. The 25 year old enjoyed a good first spell at Lyon and has a point to prove after being largely ignored at Tottenham. Neither player featured in Tuesdays victory over Marseille. It will be interesting to see if either of these play in this game. The victory over Marseille was significant as they came from a goal down to beat a top three side. The winner came from Moussa Dembele who’s sumptuous short range lob was absolute class. That victory pushed Les Gones from 11th to 7th in the table. Lyon are missing key players for this match with centre back Jason Denayer and midfielder Houesem Aouar out through injury. Striker Karl Toko Ekambi is still at the AFCON with Cameroon.

French Footy Prediction: Monaco 1 - Lyon 1