Lorient V Saint Étienne - Kicks off at 20:00 Friday 8 April
Lorient were beaten heavily at Le Parc Des Princes last weekend. There is no shame to losing to the league leaders but they were torn apart 5-1. The only consolation was Terem Moffi latching on to a weak back pass to make it 2-1. That was the 22 year old Nigerians 5th league goal this season. He is a long way off the 14 he scored in the previous campaign.
Losing by such a margin isn't good for confidence, particularly as Les Merlus had held Paris to a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture. It is also disastrous for their goal difference which could be a real factor in who stays up this season. Lorient are on the same points as Clermont below them with just a single goal seperating them. Saint Étienne are just a point and goal behind. That makes this match hugely important for both these clubs. They are lucky that Clermont host PSG today otherwise a draw could see Clermont over take them both. Lorient have just two injury concerns; midfielder Samuel Loric and forward Stephane Diarra.
Saint Étienne were beaten 4-2 at home to in form Marseille last weekend. They started well with Denis Bouanga latching on to a through ball and getting his shot on target. The shot was spilled by the goalkeeper to put Saint Étienne ahead. That was the Gabonese forwards third goal in three games and sixth of the season. He though he had a second but the goal was disallowed for offside. It wasn't to be Les Stephanois' day. Marseille were awarded a penalty after a VAR check showed Eliaquim mangala impeding his opponent. The penalty was scored by Saint Étienne old boy Dimitri Payet and then Marseille took control of the game. There was a consolation from young midfielder Lucas Gourna-Douath who fired in a shot from the end of the area to get his first goal in Ligue 1. The 18 year old was apparently being looked at by Chelsea in the summer. He is developing well in Ligue 1 so it will be interesting to see if he stays at the end of the season. Which division his current club will be in will obviously have a big impact.
The defeat halts Saint Étienne's decent run of form and momentum in getting out of the bottom three. Until the last two weeks Les Verts seemed the most likely of all the relegation battlers to survive. But one point from a possible six and some good results from teams around them, means they remain in 18th place. This is a huge opportunity for Pascal Dupraz's side. Win here and they leapfrog Lorient and get out of the relegation spots. Le Verts have several players out injured. Defenders Saidou Sow and Yvann Macon, midfielder Yvan Neyou and forward Romain Hamouma remain out whilst Wahbi Khazri (9 goals) now has a hamstring injury.
French Footy prediction: Saint Étienne 2 - Lorient 1
Reims V Rennes - Kicks off at 16:00 GMT Saturday 9th April
Reims lost narrowly at local rivals Troyes last weekend. It looked like they were heading to a draw despite having Azor Matusiwa sent off for two bookable offences after 64 minutes. Reims had created chances but the game turned against them when the 23 year old pulled his opponents shirt and received his second booking. Les Rouges est Blancs held out until stoppage time but couldn’t stop a 91st winner. It’s hardly a disaster for Oscar Garcia’s side as they are 13th in the table in no danger of relegation.
However its halted their unbeaten run of five games and let Brest overtake them in the table. Midfielder Azor Matusiwa (1 goal and 1 assist) is suspended. Top scorer Hugo Ekitike remains out with a hamstring injury.
Rennes drew at Nice last weekend with both teams battling for second place. Despite going 1-0 down Les Rennais were the better side for large parts of the game. They dominated possession despite being away from home, hit the post through Gaetan Laborde, scored an equaliser through Martin Terrier and looked the more likely to win the game. Terrier has 5 goals in four games and is now on 17 league goals for the season. Benjamin Bourigeaud also played well on the right wing. The 28 year old is having a great season and it was his free kick that was headed in by Terrier. Bourigeaud is arguably playing the best football of his career and his 6 goals and 11 assists in Ligue 1 this season.
Bruno Genesio’s team are in good form. They are unbeaten in six league matches and have scored an incredible 21 goals in that time. It will be interesting to see if they can finish 2nd or third fir a Champions League place and if they can improve again next season. The Bretons still have the following players injured; goalkeeper Alfred Gomis, centre back Loic Bade and wingers Jeremy Doku and Kamal-Deen Sulemana.
French Footy prediction: Reims 1 - Rennes 2
Clermont V PSG - Kicks off at 20:00 GMT Saturday 9th April
Clermont had some good results at the end of January and through February which gave them real hope of staying up. However they have now lost four in a row and are teetering above the bottom three by a single point. The last thing they need is a visit from the league leaders. Clermont had some good moments in their last game at Nantes. They came from a goal behind twice with two good goals. The first saw midfielder Saîf-Eddine Khaoui finish a nice team move to get his first goal for the club. The second was a great strike from distance from Salis Abdul Samed for his first of the season and the equaliser. Unfortunately the 22 year old's luck ran out. Nantes took the lead again just four minutes after his goal and he was sent off five minutes after that. Samed's red card incensed manager Pascal Gastien so much that he was sent to the stands.
Both player and manager are suspended for this game. Les Lanciers also have players missing through illness and injury. Midfielder Johan Gastien and forward Lucas Da Cunha have COVID-19. Defender Cedric Hountondji is out possibly for the rest of the season with a broken arm and forward Elbasan Rashani is carrying a muscle injury. The latter is a big miss as he has seven goals this season, the second highest goal scorer this season behind Mohamed Bayo (10 goals 3 assists).
PSG not only won last weekend but performed well which hasn't always been the case this season and particularly over the past few months. They thrashed Lorient 5-1 with Messi, Neymar and Mbappe all scoring in the same game for the first time.
Mbappe in particular was electric scoring twice and setting up the other three. The 23 year old is now on 17 league goals and 13 assists. The win ensures Paris keep their twelve point lead at the top of the table. All is still not sunshine and rainbows at the Parc Des Princes. Sergio Ramos coming on as a substitute was booed by sections of the support. It was just Ramos' 6th appearance in all competitions this season and some fans are annoyed at the waste of money that represents. Manager Mauriccio Pochettino blamed the booing on recent Champions League defeat to Real Madrid. In an interview with L’Equipe he stated “We are all affected. I think it’s the frustration of the fans for the result, I don’t think it’s directed against him, he’s a great champion, he deserves respect like all the players in Paris Saint Germain.” I would say the booing is less to do with that actual result and more do with Ramos being one of several overpaid stars who haven’t contributed what was hoped for. Hardly Ramos’ fault if he’s been injured but it does highlight a misjudged transfer policy where stars of the game are paid unbelievable wages without playing particularly well if at all. PSG’s injury list is significant; goalkeeper Keylor Navas, defenders Layvin Kurzawa, Juan Bernat and Abdou Diallo , midfielders Angel Di Maria, Ander Herrera, Julien Draxler, Leandro Paredes, Marco Verratti and Ismael Gharbi are all out. Only Paredes will be missing from last week’s first eleven so the outcome of this match is still weighed heavily in the Parisian’s favour. French Footy prediction: Clermont 0 - PSG 2
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