Lille V Metz - Kicks off at 20:00 Friday 18th February - Live on BT Sport 3
Lille got an important win last weekend with a 1-0 victory at Montpellier. It was important for Les Dogues to get a victory after the humiliation of being beaten 5-1 at home to PSG the previous week. That performance saw goalkeeper Ivo Grbić dropped to the bench and Brazilian Léo Jardim come in for his third Ligue 1 appearance of the season. Les Lillois created plenty of chances and finally made one count when Benjamin Andre’s deflected shot fell to Xeka. The Portuguese midfielder smashed the ball home for his second league goal of the current campaign.
The win was enough for Jocelyn Gourvennec’s team to move past Montpellier but they are only 10th in the table. A disappointment considering they are Ligue 1 Champions. They have no major injury concerns here other than Renato Sanches is out with a groin injury. The Portuguese midfielder has hardly featured this season anyway due to different injuries. Turkish right back Zeki Celik will miss the game through suspension. Lille should be going all out for a win here against a team that are really struggling. Will Lille be impacted by the huge Champion’s League game coming up on Tuesday at Chelsea? Could Gourvennec rest players here in preparation for the first leg?
Metz lost narrowly last weekend at home to Marseille. They created plenty of chances (11 with 4 on target) but only made one count when Habib Maïga equalised by finishing off a nice team move.
That was only Maïga’s third of the season and the Metz’s lack of goals has been costing them dearly. Manager Frédéric Antonetti was pleased with the performance and thought a draw would have been a fair result. With Saint Étienne winning and Lorient picking up a point, Metz are second to bottom of the table with only goal difference (5) separating them from Bordeaux who are bottom. Les Grenats have a stronger squad than they did a few weeks ago with a lot of players back from injury and the AFCON. They still have time to get out of this but results need to start coming quickly. Metz are still without top scorers Nicolas Preville (striker) and Fabien Centonze (right back) who have just 4 goals each.
French Footy prediction: Lille 1 - Metz 0
Lens V Lyon - Kicks off at 16:00 Saturday 19th February
After losing their last two league games (2-0 at home to Marseille - 2-0 at Lorient) then being knocked out of the Cup 4-2 at home to Monaco , it was important for Lens to get a victory. Last weekends 3-2 win at home to Bordeaux stopped Les Lensois’ slide down the table and pushed them from 9th to 8th. Les Sangs Et Ors were 3-0 up within 26 minutes and seemed to be cruising then let their opponents back in to the game. They managed to hold out for the three points in an entertaining match. The pick of the five goals came from midfielder Seko Fofana who scored a belter with the outside of his right boot for his 9th goal of the season in all competitions. Manager Franck Haise is still missing forward Wesley Said through injury. Lens should go in to this match with confidence against a team with similar fluctuating form who sit just a point and a single place above them in the table.
Lyon are coming off a convincing 2-0 win over third placed Nice. A match they dominated in possession and chances. Manager Peter Bocz dropped German defender Jerome Boateng after Les Gones' poor performance the previous week in the 2-0 defeat at Monaco. There were full debuts for Romain Faivre and Tanguy Ndombele who both played well. After an early penalty for Moussa Dembélé, his 8th goal of the season in just 17 matches, Lyon dominated the game. Ndombele later provided the cross for Karl Toko Ekambi (pictured) to bundle in his 12th goal of the season.
The question now for Lyon and Peter Bosz is can they perform again like that this weekend? They’ve got talented players and goal scorers. Consistency is what is needed now if they are to push for Europe. It's a shame for Bosz that Moussa Dembele will miss this game through suspension. Centre back Jason Denayer is still out with an ankle injury.
French Footy prediction: Lens 2 - Lyon 2
Nantes V PSG - Kicks off at 20:00 Saturday 19th February - Live on BT Sport 3
Nantes continue to defy expectations and got their tenth win of the season last weekend over Reims. The 1-0 home victory saw them move into 9th position, a long way off from the relegation scrap everyone expected from them. Les Nantais created plenty of chances but it was winger Moses Simon who broke the deadlock on 17 minutes. The 26 year old Nigerian is having a great season. Whilst that was just his third goal of the campaign his powerful forward runs are often the catalyst for his teams most dangerous attacks. He also has 6 assists for the season.
Les Canaris also have a Coupe De France semi final against Monaco to look forward to on the 2nd March. Clearly Manager Antoine Kombouaré is getting a lot out of his players without being able to invest in the squad. Nantes are only missing midfielder Samuel Moutoussamy and possibly right back Fabio through injury so go in to this match in good shape. They will also be fresher as PSG had a demanding Champions League game against Real Madrid on Tuesday.
PSG won narrowly last weekend 1-0 over Rennes last weekend. The Parisians are rarely blowing teams away in Ligue 1 this season but just find a way to win, often in the later stages of matches. This was again the case with Kylian Mbappe scoring the winner in stoppage time. Without the 23 year old's goals PSG would not have the huge 13 point gap they have over the rest of the league. That was Mbappe's 12th league goal of the season and his 21st in all competitions. The prodigy from the Bondy district of Paris came up with the goods again against Real Madrid on Tuesday with yet another stoppage time winner. He was a constant threat to the Spaniards with excellent pace and movement, forced Thibaut Courtois in to some excellent saves and won a penalty that was missed by Messi. He is clearly the Ligue 1 player of the season so far and possible in Europe. The winning goal was complete class, receiving the ball from wide on the left, beating two defenders and calmy side footing the ball past Courtois.
If he is to leave for Real Madrid in the summer then he is signing off from Paris with a bang. Messi and Neymar have coasted through too many games this season whilst Mbappe comes up with the goods again and again. Whilst often being pedestrian in their Ligue 1 performances this season PSG completely outplayed Madrid on Tuesday night. They created 21 chances 8 of which were on target and limited Carlo Ancelotti's team to three chances, none of which were on target. More good news for Mauricio Pochettino is they Neymar JR came on as a late substitute following his ankle injury that has seen him miss recent games. The Argentinian coach has no injuries to worry about other than Sergios Ramos who has missed most of the season.
French Footy Prediction: Nantes 1 - PSG 2
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