Strasbourg V Lens - Kicks off at 12:00 GMT - Live on BT Sport 3
Strasbourg may feel a bit disappointed they only came away from relegation battlers Lorient with a point in their past game. Les Coureurs played well enough in a competitive encounter and created chances. The best opportunities fell to striker Kevin Gameiro who tested the keeper with his first chance but pulled a later one wide. Strasbourg are 5th in Ligue 1, seven games unbeaten with just one loss in eleven. Julien Stéphan remains on course to get his team into Europe in his first season as Manager.
A victory could put Les Coureurs into the chase for a Champion's League place which woud be an astronomical achievement for a club who have spent so little this season. They come up against another good team here. The sides look well matched on paper so we should see a good game here. On loan defender Lucas Perrin is suspended for this game whilst defender Maxime Le Marchand, midielder Ismael Doukoure and forward Adrien Thomassson remain injured.
Lens' form had been a little patchy since the end of January but they are on a run of one loss in six games. They are in that clutch of teams between 6th and 11th in the table that could easily finish mid table or qualify for Europe. Les Sangs Est Ors were 8th at the start of the weekend but only four points from 6th and 11th place in Ligue 1. In their last match Lens came back from a goal down to win 3-1. They made the most of some poor defending by Clermont and set pieces for their first and third goals. The second was a great piece of opportunism by Florian Sotoca. The striker ran from behind the Clermont keeper to steal the ball and fire in from a tight angle. That’s now five league goals and four assists for the 31 year old. It’s a pity that Sotoca and defender Kevin Danso, who also scored against Clermont are suspended for this game. There was more good news for Lens when wing back Jonathan Clauss was called up to the French National team for the first time and received his first cap against the Ivory Coast.
A second cap and first start soon followed against South Africa. It’s a great story as the 29 year old was playing in the lower leagues for most of his career. Apart from the suspensions Les Lensois will be without forward Corentin Jean who is injured. French Footy prediction: Strasbourg 2 - Lens 2
Saint Étienne V Marseille ****Match rescheduled from yesterday due to snow******* - Kicks off at 14:00 - Live on BT Sport 3
Saint Étienne remain in the bottom three but picked up a valuable point in their last league game. The 1-1 home draw against Troyes was perhaps a little disappointing as the latter remain three places and two points ahead of them. However Les Verts have a great momentum going with only one loss in seven games. They looked dead and buried six weeks ago but really look now like they have the means to stay up. Troyes scored early on I. The game but Saint Étienne dominated possession and created a series of chances. They eventually equalised when Mahdi Camara was fouled in the box and Ryad Boudebouz smashed in the resulting spot kick. The 32 year old now has three league goals for the season and is enjoying his football since Pascal Dupraz took over in December.
Les Stephanois had chances to win the game through Denis Bouanga who pulled his shot wide and Arnaud Nordin who missed with a header. It was an opportunity missed and they face stronger opponents this weekend but their is real belief among playing staff and fans that Saint Étienne will stay up. Les Verts have the following players out but should have a similar starting eleven to the one that played against Troyes; Defenders Yvan Macon and Saidou Sow, midfielders Falaye Sacko and Yvan Neyou and forward Romain Hamouma. Striker Enzo Crivelli is yet to play for the club since signing as a free transfer in January. He remains a doubt for this game.
Marseille had arguably their most important win of the season so far before the International break, beating Nice 2-1 at home. Both sides have been battling for second place in Ligue 1 all season. Les Marseillais opened the scoring after a clever one two between Cengiz Ünder and Dimitri Payet resulted in the former being fouled in the box. There was a brief discussion between Arkadiusz Milik and Payet about who would take the spot kick. Milik came away with the ball and calmly slotted in his 7th league goal of the season but 20th in all competitions. Nice were always in the game and should have had a penalty when Saliba ran in to the back of Delort. However Marseille survived the penalty scare and took a 2-0 lead when substitute Cedric Bakambu scored with a great header at the far post. That was the Congolese's third goal in six league games for the club after signing as a free transfer in January. It was a great cross from Brazilian midfielder Gerson who is really showing his class.
Nice pulled one back in stoppage time but L’OM took the points. A big victory that put them back into second place above Rennes. The win also reduced the deficit with PSG to 12 points although its unlikely any title race will materialise with only nine games left. Luan Peres is suspended for this match whilst fellow centre back Leonardo Balerdi is out for the season with a shoulder injury. Arkadiusz Milik is out with a hamstring hamstring injury which is a big blow to Phoenicians.
French Footy prediction: Saint Étienne 1 - Marseille 1
Metz V Monaco - Kicks off at 14:00 GMT
Metz had kept four clean sheets in a row prior to to their most recent match at Rennes two weeks ago. Rennes had way too much for them but Metz imploded with some awful defending. They lost 6-1 but the deficit could have been double fingers. The only plus in that match was a late consolation goal from Louis Mafouta. Mafouta's first goal for the club was the only shot Les Grenats managed to get on target. but at least ended Metz's four-game run without a goal. Only Bordeaux are having a worse season, a fact reflected in the league table. Bordeaux could actually overtake Metz in the table this weekend. If Metz do not win this they are in real risk of being cut a drift from the rest of the relegation battlers let alone the rest of Ligue 1. Having manager Frederic Antonetti still banned from the touchline for a recent pitchside brawl doesn't help.
Metz's injury list is also significant. Both first team fullbacks Thomas Delaine (2 assists) and Fabien Centonze (6 goals 1 assist) are out. as are defenders Jean-Armel Kana-Biyik,and Matthieu Udol, midfielders Boubakar Traore and Habib Maiga. Influential centre back Boubakar Kouyate and midfielder Vincent Pajot are suspended.
Monaco had their best win of the season beating leaders PSG 3-0. Boss Philippe Clement was under a bit of pressure going in to this match after a period of patchy league form and exits from the Coupe De France and Europa League. The Belgian Manager got a great performance out of his team against Parisand Monaco have kept six clean sheets in the last ten league games. The victory was no fluke. Les Monegasques created chances throughout the game despite giving up the lions share of possession to the visitors. Wissam Ben Yedder opened the scoring on 25 minutes with an audacious flick. His strike partner Kevin Volland came off the bench to score the second, finishing off a nice team move with a first time shot. That was the German’s 6th league goal of the season, 12th in all competitions. He was soon to get his 5th assist by winning a penalty. Ben Yedder again hit the net from the spot and remains Ligue 1’s top scorer with 17 league goals.
Monaco have had some good results this season but all too often dropped points against teams they’d expect to beat. Will that be the case again here? Young Brazilian defender Vanderson is unavailable due to COVID whilst Cesc Fabregas and Krepin Diatta are injured. French Footy prediction: Metz 0 - Monaco 1
Troyes V Reims - Kicks off at 14:00 GMT
Troyes 1-1 draw at Saint Étienne was an excellent result for them. It kept them out of the bottom three and kept the gap with their hosts to two points and three places. They sit 15th in the table although a loss here could be enough to be in a relegation place by the end of the weekend. Here they face their Champagne region rivals who are three places above them but with a 7 point advantage. A win here could create some much needed breathing space for the hosts. Bruno Irles is enjoying his best period with the club since taking over in January.
LESTAC are currently unbeaten in four games with two wins and two draws. On loan striker Lebo Mothiba got the goal for his surrogate club. The South African scored his second goal in seven games since joining from Strasbourg. He finished from close range after good work on the left from full back Abdu Conté. Troyes have only two players unavailable for this game; midfielder Karim Azamoum who is out for the season with an ACL injury and forward Hyun-Jun Suk.
Like their local rivals Reims are enjoying one of the best runs of their season. They have lost just once in seven games and picked up impressive wins over Bordeaux, Monaco and Angers. Oscar Garcia’s brand of attractive passing football continues to defy expectations. Les Rouges et Blancs are a decent way away from the relegation scrap many thought they’d be involved in. Being nine points clear of the bottom three at this stage of the season must represent success for this Reims side.
Reims have a decent away record and have only lost two of their last 10 league games away from home. A point here against a team they haven't beaten in their five previous league matches would be a decent result. Midfielder Marshall Munetsi is suspended for this game which is a miss as he has four goals this season. Reims have coped well with their injury list of late particularly as they've picked up points without top scorer Hugo Ekitike (9 goals) who remains out with a hamstring injury.
French Footy prediction: Troyes 1 - Reims 1
Montpellier V Brest - Kicks off at 14:00 GMT
Montpellier are at the bottom of the mini table of clubs still with a chance of qualifying for Europe. After a poor run of form La Paillade have turned things around slightly drawing at home to Nice then winning 2-0 at Bordeaux. Beating Bordeaux who are languishing at the bottom of the table is hardly surprising but doing it with nine men is. Montpellier had two players sent off at the end of the first half yet still managed to hold on for three important points. Two early goals from Elye Wahi and Florent Mollet were enough to secure victory prior to defenders Nicolas Cozza and Mihailo Ristić being sent off. Mollet's sixth goal of the season was a fierce strike from distance and worth a watch on Youtube. A win here could see Montpellier move up to 8th and put them right back in the fight for Europe. This fixture last season saw the Managers in the opposite dugouts. The reverse fixture in December saw Oscar Dall'Oglio get one over his old club and the coach he swapped roles with Michel Der Zakarian.
Montpellier ran out 4-0 winners on that occasion. This is two sides who are well matched with only two places but six points separating them. Win this and Montpellier will put real distance between the two. These are two very counter attacking teams which could work against La Paillade who will be expected to attack more being the home team. Cozza and Ristić are obviously suspended whilst defenders Mamadou Saho and Thibault Tamas and midfielder Pedro Mendes remain injured. A big plus for Montpellier is the return of attacking midfielder Stephy Mavididi (8 goals) who made a substitute appearance against Bordeuax after a sustained period of injury. It will be interesting to see if he starts here.
Brest are coming off a bad result after losing in their last game 1-0 at an Angers side that had been in terrible form. It's unlikely that Les Pirates will be dragged in to the relegation scrap but a loss here could make the final eight games of the campaign uncomfortable. Michel Der Zakarian takes his team back to the club he managed for four years but were beaten comfortably by in the reverse fixture. As mentioned above these are two good counter attacking teams which may favour Brest as the away team. Could Montpellier's depleted defense with two player suspended change Der Zakarian's thinking and push hi to be more attacking here? His team have only won of their last last five games and they have only scored twice in their last five away games, A win here would be very welcome.
The Armenian Manager has only two injury concerns; defender Ronaël Pierre-Gabriel and second choice goalkeeper Sebastian Cibois. In that regard his team are in much better shape than Montpellier.
French Footy prediction: Montpellier 2 - Brest 2
Clermont V Nantes - Kicks off at 14:00 GMT
Clermont have had a bad month in terms of results. Since a fantastic 2-1 win at Marseille in February they've had three losses and a draw. That form leaves them just one point above the bottom three. With Saint Étienne just below them having a real momentum going for them Clermont fans will be concerned. Forward Elbasan Rashani got his 7th goal of the season at Lens in Clermont's last game to give his side the league. Unfortunately for them they were then easily turned over and lost 3-1. Les Lanciers engineered their own downfall to a degree with some haphazard defending particularly from set pieces. Pascal Gastien has to get more from his team here particularly at home against a decent Nantes side.
Clermont are missing defenders Cedric Houtondji (1 goal) and Vital N'Simba (1 goal) through injury whilst midfielder Jim Allevinah (1 goal 2 assists) has COVID.
A matter of weeks ago Nantes were in superb form, getting to the final of the Coupe De France and sitting in the top 6 of Ligue 1. Back to back defeats have seen them slip to 8th which has killed some of the excitement surrounding the club a little. Les Canaris are still having a fantastic season but it would be a shame if they just slipped to mid table after such a good run. Nantes have only one victory in seven away games but were they to win this they'd be pushing for the top six again. That makes this a big game for Anoine Komboaure and his players.
Les Nantais did win the reverse fixture 2-1 so should go in to this with confidence. They have three defenders out injured; Sebastian Corchi, Charles Traore and most lamentably Nicolas Pallois. Midfielder Marcus Coco is also out. With attacking talent like Moses Simon, Ludovic Blas and Randal Kolo Muani Nantes have enough to win this game.
French Footy prediction: Clermont 0 - Nantes 1
Lyon V Angers - Kicks off at 16:05 - Live on BT Sport ESPN
It’s difficult to understand why Lyon’s form is so erratic. They had a good run of results at the start of the year enforced by some new signings. Since then they've struggled and have just two wins in seven games. I’m their last game Les Gones were held 0-0 at Reims despite largely dominating possession. Two of the main supporters groups Bad Gones 1987 and Lyon 1950 are planning a joint demonstration prior to the game Long standing Club President Jean-Michel Aulas spoke to the press this week in a bid to reassure supporters that the season is far from over. Aulas said “Their concern is legitimate. We are sensitive to that. We have the ambition to finish in the nails that we had defined at the start of the season. The team was sometimes unpredictable. We still qualified against Porto. We are capable of the best from time to time. We could be on a more regular basis. We speak regularly with the supporters. I was saddened to read that they felt a certain distance from the club. We are in a special situation. As long as things remain possible, I will not take the initiative to create doubt in the minds of the players. I think it's too early to react like that. We are going to play a terribly important match against Angers. The feeling of revenge must exist. And we are going to play our European future. I want everyone to be behind the team. The team needs its supporters. They need to hear me. Without them, we cannot do it. You have to respect the logo, the institution.”
They are still at least in Europe with Thursday's Europa League quarter final first leg at West Ham to look forward to. They must win this though to keep hope qualifying for Europe through their Ligue 1 placing and not relying on winning the Europa League. This is a huge week for Les Lyonnais.
After an abysmal run of form that saw only one win in eleven games Angers managed to beat Brest 1-0 at home. A massive result that stops the suction towards a relegation battle they had no business being in. The all important goal came from the penalty spot after Pierrick Capelle was impeded in the box. Attacking midfielder Sofiane Boufal dispatched the penalty for his 6th goal of the season. Capelle had a good game in his first appearance of this calendar year and forced the keeper in to a good save. Angers came close to scoring again through Mohamed Ali Cho but again they were thwarted by the keeper. There was a first start of the season for goalkeeper Anthony Mandrea who replaced Danijel Petkovic who has had a tough time recently.
The decision to let first choice keeper Paul Bernardoni go to Saint Étienne on loan was looking costly. Bernardoni has done ell at Les Verts whilst Angers started to struggle without him. A clean sheet is a good start for Mandrea so I would imagine he’ll keep his place for this game. Defender Romain Thomas (3 goals) is suspended for this match. Midfielder Azzedine Ounahi and winger Cabot are injured and Forward Angelo Fulgini (6 goals 4 assists) is a doubt with a hamstring injury.
French Footy prediction: Lyon 2 - Angers 1
PSG V Lorient - Kicks off at 19:45 GMT - Live on BT Sport 3
PSG’s 3-0 loss at Monaco in their last game did nothing to dispel the cloud of conflict over the club. Paris remain 12 points clear at the top of the table but their is a huge disconnect between the players, directors, fans and press. Manager Mauricio Pochettino was upset about the performance of his players after the game "The way we lost is not acceptable at this level of competition," "We can't start a game the way we started this one.
"You have to get out of the frustration of elimination in the Champions League. You have to think about giving the best of yourself."
Captain Marquinhos labelled the performance "Catastrophic" and "...our worst game of the year." They should bounce back here with a result if not a performance. Lorient are struggling and PSG should have enough to get the win without performing at a high level. It will be interesting to see how much pride they have. It will also be interesting to see how the crowd is after the jeering of their own players in the last home game, a 3-0 win over Bordeaux. Defenders Juan Bernat and Layvin Kurzawa are doing injured. Abou Diallo and Marco Verratti are doubts after picking up knocks.
Lorient picked up a decent point at home to high flying Strasbourg. The 0-0 draw was enough to keep them out of the bottom three. Les Merlus sit in 16th place just above Clermont on goal difference. It’s difficult to see them them getting anything at the Parc Des Princes against the league leaders who are hurting after recent defeats. The Lorient board must have been under a bit of pressure to sack Manager Christophe Pelissier earlier in the season after an awful run of results when they went fifteen games without a win. However they stuck with the 56 year old and he's managed to turn things around. His team have become harder to beat and have only lost two of the last seven games. In the reverse fixture Lorient actually took a point at home to PSG so they will have some confidence.
Midfielder Bonke Innocent is suspended for this match whilst striker Stephane Diarra remains out with a muscle injury. Samuel Loric and Fabien Lemoine remain doubts despite returning to training this week.
French Footy prediction: PSG 2 - 0
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