It's eight wins from eight from PSG who beat Montpellier last night 2 - 0. They are currently ten points clear although Marseille have two games in hand over them. Lorient continued to defy expectations with a draw at in form Lyon. Lille managed back to back wins for the first time this season and Saint Etienne lost again. Lets see how the rest of the League reacts today.
Yesterdays results:
Saint Etienne 0 V Nice 3
Strasbourg 1 V Lille 2
Lyon 1 V Lorient 1
PSG 2 V Montpellier 0
Bordeaux V Rennes - Kicks off at 1200 - Live on BT Sport 3
Bordeaux have struggled this season but are two games unbeaten with a close win at Saint-Etienne last week and a thrilling 3 - 3 draw at home to Montpellier on Wednesday. Once again Les Bordelais showed fight to keep themselves in the game. A few times this season they have gone behind but fought well to get back in to the game. They also scored two fantastic goals. The first was an initial equaliser from Hwang Ui-Jo.
Hwang got off the mark for the season last week with two goals at Saint Etienne. The Korean Striker followed that brace with a an absolute belter from distance. Well worth a watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxXGbJ2n93A
Eleven minutes later Onana smashed in a volley from distance. I’ll let you decide which one was best: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYfD51Sg82o . A draw at Montellier wasn't a bad result, particularly as Bordeaux were missing their influential Centre Back and Captain Laurent Koscielny. The Captain could miss this match too as he is still suffering with an ankle injury.
For weeks now I’ve been comparing Rennes to Lille. Two sides with talented, well balanced squads that haven’t been able to get their season going. Finally Lille got an important midweek win and Rennes absolutely thumped Clermont 6 - 0. Jonas Martin got his first of the season to get things going before Terrier got Rennes‘ second and his second of the campaign. Sulemana scored two in quick succession and Laborde and Tait got their first league goals for Rennes this season. Laborde now has two goals for his new club after scoring against Tottenham in the recent Europa League game. I wouldn’t bet against him getting double figures for Rennes this season.
Les Rennais will again be without Winger Jeremy Doku due to the hamstring injury that’s kept him out of recent games. Looking at Bordeaux and Rennes’ squads I would think the Bretons would finish higher than Les Bordelais come the end of the season. Because both sides have struggled for consistency however it makes this match hard to predict. There should be goals. Can Rennes finally put a bit of a run together?
Frenchfooty prediction: Bordeaux 2 V Rennes 2.
Reims V Nantes - Kicks off at 1400 - Live on BT Sport 3
Reims suffered their second loss of the season on Wednesday at Lille. Les Rouges est Blancs have surprised me with the quality of their play this season and have been difficult to beat. Their other loss came to PSG who are beating everyone. Oscar Garcia’s side lack experience though particularly up front and I think ultimately that will cost them. They have talent in the two 19 year old forwards who’s goals beat Rennes a few weeks ago - Hugo Ekitike (pictured) and N'Dri Philippe Koffi.
I don’t think they’ll be enough to keep Reims up though.
Nantes are coming off back to back wins over Angers and Brest after performing well but losing against Nice. In their last two games they have been much more clinical. They have power and pace going forward but had been guilty of a poor final ball. Against Brest Moses Simon was a threat from the left of midfield.
It was his powerful run that led to Ludovic Blas opening the scoring for Les Canaris. Blas now has four goals this season and three in two games. Nantes second goal was a superb strike from the edge of the area from Spanish Midfielder Pedro Chirvella. That was his first goal in French football. Moses Simon was involved again for the third goal when his run and pass towards Striker Kalifa Coulibaly forced a Brest own goal. If Nantes can perform like that again I think they’ll come away from Champagne with three points.
Brest V Metz - Kicks off at 1400
This is a big game for two sides who are struggling and could be fighting it out to avoid relegation near the season’s end. Both sides are yet to win with just a point and two league places separating them. Brest lie 18th with Metz rock bottom. Les Brestois have managed to score in each of their games this season but have conceded in each game too. Coach Michel Der Zakarian saw his side have more of the possession at Nantes in midweek but struggle to create chances and ultimately lost 3 - 1. Their one goal came from substitute Jérémy Le Douaron who turned in a corner. That was Le Douaron's second of the season. Brest should have Striker Steve Mounie fully for for this game. The 26 year old was Les Pirates' top scorer last season with 9 league goals, ten in all competitions. He missed the draw at Clermont through injury and was a second half substitute against Nantes. When fit he's an important player for Brest and offers them more of a focal point due to his physicality and prowess in the air.
Brest do carry a threat with Mounie, Honorat and the talented Romain Faivre but need to create more chances. Being at home today they really need to go for that first elusive win.
Metz had a terrible results at local rivals Strasbourg last week losing 3 - 0. They reacted well in midweek however to give PSG a scare. After going down 1 - 0 early on Metz fans must have feared the worst. However after striking the post in the loss at Strasbourg, Centre Back Boubakar Kouyaté (pictured) got an equalising goal, heading in from a corner.
Les Grenats managed to keep the Champions Elect out until stoppage time when Hakimi scored the winner on 95 minutes. They were down to ten men at that stage with defender Dylan Bronn being sent off on 91 minutes for a second bookable offence. It was tough on Metz but Coach Frédéric Antonetti must have been pleased with the tenacity his team showed. Antonetti will be without the suspended Bronn at the back for this match. I wonder if we'll see attacking midfielder Opa Nguette for this game. The Senegalese International has missed several games through injury this season. His attacking runs from midfield have been missed and could be a difference to Metz's form. Both sides are desperate for a win here. Both leak goals but are capable of scoring so their should be plenty of goalmouth action in this one.
Frenchfooty prediction: Brest 2 V Metz 2
Troyes V Angers - Kicks off at 1400
Newly promoted Troyes have just the solitary win so far and just a point above the relegation play off place. They don’t look like they don’t belong in this league though and aren’t playing badly. They lack a bit of cutting edge and are rarely beaten convincingly. I can see them picking up points and things clicking into place for them. I hope for their sakes they are not cut adrift from a lot of teams above them before that happens though. In their last game ESTAC were well beaten at Lyon (3 - 1). They'd actually taken the lead on the stroke of half time through midfielder Xavier Chavalerin (2 goals, 1 assist this season). Striker Yoann Touzghar is also on two for the season.
Laurent Battles has his team well organised and able to break well on the counter attack. They just need to find some consistency. They will be without Midfielder Karim Azamoum for this game as he has an ACL injury.
Angers continue to do well this season and defy expectations. On Wednesday they became the first team to stop Marseille scoring in their 0 - 0 home draw and have only lost once this season. They are similar to Troyes in that they are well organised but have found it easier to pick up results than today's opponents. Gérald Baticle's side are 5th in the league but could jump to second with a victory here. Anger's success has been built on a strong defence with them only conceded six times in seven games but having four clean sheets in that time. I'm also interested to watch Angers as they have a nice style of football and to see the development of 17 year old Striker Mohamed-Ali Cho.
This could be a close game. Troyes really need to go for the victory but may find Angers hard to break down.
Frenchfooty prediction: Troyes 1 V Angers 1
Clermont Foot V Monaco - Kicks off at 1600 - Live on BT Sport 3
Poor Clermont. They had adjusted to top flight football for the first time in history like Ducks to water. Pascal Gastien’s team had two wins and two draws before going to Les Parc Des Princes and got dismantled 4 - 0.
There’s no shame in losing to Paris though and they were without star striker Mohamed Bayo for that game. They got back on track with a draw at home to Brest last weekend then got obliterated 6 - 0 at Rennes on Wednesday. Clermont struggled to get a foothold in that game and only created five chances, only one of which was on target. They have to perform well today to try and get something out of the game. They particularly need to work on suring up their defence that started the season well. Clermont have Midfielder Johan Gastien available again after his suspension last week.
Monaco have finally turned things around and got their season going. Les Monegasques are unbeaten in three including their Europa League victory over Sturm Graz. After a difficult start to the season Niko Kovač has finally managed to get his Strikers going. Kevin Volland got off the mark for the season with the opening goal of the game against Saint Etienne on Wednesday. Wissam Ben Yedder then got his second and third goals of the season to finalise a 3 - 1 home victory. The first came from the Penalty spot and the second a tidy right foot volley. Like the other French Clubs in Europe Monaco have a busy schedule so Kovac may make a few changes here. I think he needs to keep his strike pairing together though so they can keep their form going.
Frenchfooty prediction: Clermont 1 V Monaco 2
Marseille V Lens - Kicks off at 1945 - Live on BT Sport 2
Marseille are still unbeaten and playing some very attractive attacking football. Surprisingly they have three clean sheets in a row. That's unheard of with Jorge Sampaoli's all attacking style. How much of that is down to new Goalkeeper Pau López or Marseille dominating possession is hard to say. L'OM will have been a bit disappointed to draw at Angers on Wednesday. Particularly as they had a great chance to score through Winger Luis Henrique. The Brazilian found his one on one with the Goalkeeper but delayed his shot. The Keeper Bernardoni then smothered the ball well to deny him. There were a lot of changes to the team for this game with Sampaoli being aware of the congested fixtures Marseille have. This match follows Wednesdays game before Marseille play Galatasaray on Thursday then travel to Lille next Sunday. With that in mind De La Fuente, Ünder, Guendouzi and Saliba (pictured) were all missing from the starting eleven.
Those four have been regular starters and star performers for Marseille this season. Les Marseillais were also without star player Dimitri Payet who had a thigh injury. He could play here but I wonder if Sampaoli will keep him on the bench in preparation for the Galatasaray game on Thursday. Whilst it's important to use the squad I hope Sampaoli doesn't drop too many of his first eleven here. Marseille lie second in the table and could have a great season if they keep their form going. Lens are a good team so Marseille will have to be at their best to beat them.
Lens were on the receiving end of their first defeat at home to Strasbourg on Wednesday. They weren’t helped by playing without any fans in their stadium following crowd trouble in the recent Derby at home to Lille. It’s hard to understand what’s causing the outbreaks of violence we’ve seen at various grounds cover the past 6 weeks. The LFP and the Clubs need to get a grip of this before someone gets severely injured or killed. The fans get on to the pitch too easily and their never seems enough Stewards or Police. The Stade Bollaert-Delelis is renowned for a great atmosphere and the players must have missed that. Lens were unlucky to not get anything from this game. They had most of the possession, created more chances than Strasbourg and saw a Sotoca shot come off two posts.
Franck Haise's side had to play 40 minutes with ten men and Centre Back Kevin Danso received a straight red card for a robust challenge. A red was perhaps a little harsh and definitely had a bearing on the game. Danso will now miss this game through suspension. This was the first time this season that Lens failed to score. They'll continue to have a good season and give Marseille a good game here today.
Frenchfooty prediction: Marseille 2 - Lens 1
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