Ligue 1 - Week 5 - Friday and Saturday match previews and predictions

After an early season International Break we can pick up on the Ligue 1 season.

Lorient V Lille - Kicks off at 2000 Friday 10 September - Live on BT Sport 2

Here we have two sides sitting on five points each with one win, two losses and a draw. Lorient will be much happier with their start than the Champions. Lille were not expecting to challenge for the title again but would have hoped for a better start. The Bretons meanwhile would be expected to have another season battling relegation. Les Merlus had a great win at Monaco a few weeks back and fought out a good 2 - 2 draw at Lens before the break. Their only loss was at Montpellier who have been full of goals this season (possibly not anymore) and Lorient had a man sent off in that game, albeit late on. Manager Christophe Pélissier must be pretty pleased with how his side has started. Pélissier favoured a four man defense in the first half of last season but after a run of terrible form changed it to five at the back. His 5-4-1 or 5-3-2 formation has been much more effective. This season youngster Armand Laurienté is partnering Terem Moffi up front after after Yoane Wissa left in in the summer for Brentford. Laurienté (pictured) got off the mark in Lorient's last game at Lens as did midfielder Thomas Monconduit.

Lorient will again be without Stephane Diarra, Jeremy Morel and Loris Mouyokolo who are all injured.

Lille had their first win of the season before the International break against a dangerous Montpellier side. They look a little better defensively since Goalkeeper Ivo Grbic came to the Club. In his two games the Croatian has conceded just twice, one in each game.

Manager Jocelyn Gourvennec will be hoping that Grbic's arrival will be the catalyst to being stronger at the back as Lille were last season under Christophe Galtier. Lille certainly have goals in their team so if they get better defensively they could finally get their season going. Striker Jonathan David got off the mark for the season with a well taken winner against Montpellier, with midfielder Yusuf Yazıcı getting the other. We haven't yet seen much of new signing Amadou Onana. The Belgian U21s captain is physically very strong and seems to be most comfortable as a defensive central midfielder. It looks to be a choice for Gourvennec between Onana and the more attacking Yazici. Onana is highly fancied by a lot of ex players and pundits so it will be interesting to see how he develops.

This is a hard game to predict because Lorient keep surprising me and Lille have yet to really get going. If Lille are at their best they should just nick it though.

Frenchfooty prediction: Lorient 1 V Lille 2

PSG V Clermont Foot - Kicks off at 1600

The biggest news for PSG this week is that Kylian Mbappé is staying until the end of the season. It's no secret Mbappé wants to play for Madrid but the Parisian hierarchy were not prepared to let him go even for the 200 Million Euros offered, It's brave of Paris to reject that amount given that Mbappé will be out of contract next summer and probably leave for free. It shows just how much the Qatari owners value him and think that Mbappé along with Messi and Neymar Jr can win them the Champions League this season. Indeed it was Mbappé who stole the show at Reims before the International break with two goals. We didn't see the potentially brilliant triumvirate play together at Reims as Messi came on for Neymar. We will not see them this weekend either as Mbappé is a doubt with a calf injury and Messi and Neymar will be away on International duty.

PSG have strengthened their squad yet again with the transfer deadline day signing of left back Nuno Mendes.

Mauricio Pochettino's side were a bit light in their full back positions last season. The signing of Hakimi at Right Back was inspired with the Moroccan performing brilliantly since signing from Inter Milan. With Mendes now on the other side of the back four the Parisians' will be even more formidable. The Portuguese International is very quick, skillful and loves to get forward. He is also difficult to beat. PSG could be without Marco Verratti who is carrying a knock and Mauro Icardi who has a shoulder injury. Normally this wouldn't really matter due to the size and quality of PSG's squad. However Pochettino will be without Captain Marquinhos (Centre back), Paredes (Midfield) and Di Maria (Wing) as they too will be away with their Countries. Will Pochettino have to push someone like Julian Draxler further forward? It will be interesting to see their line up.

Clermont are loving life in the top tier of French Football. Given that this is their first season in the top flight they are the only team to be unbeaten in Ligue 1 history. Most people will expect that that to change this weekend. Pascal Gastien must be delighted with how his team have performed. They are unbeaten with two wins and two draws and only PSG have scored more than them. Les Lanciers will also be breathing a sigh of relief that star Striker Mohamed Bayo did not leave during the transfer window. The Guinea International (pictured) was their top scorer in Ligue 2 last season and already has three goals and two assists in this Campaign so far.

Kosovan Winger Elbasan Rashani also has three goals with his coming in the last two games. Clermont strengthened their squad on the 28th August with the purchase of defensive midfielder from Barcelona's B team, Oriol Busquets. The 22 year old Spaniard can also play as Centre Half so it will be interesting to see where he fits in. If Clermont were at home I could definitely see them nicking a draw against the Champions Elect. It will be harder at Les Parc Des Princes but given the circumstances I'm going to go out on a limb and say Clermont can still get a draw here. Particularly if Mbappé is out.

Frenchfooty prediction: PSG 1 V Clermont 1

****Update Sat 11 Sep*** It looks like Mbappe could be starting for PSG and Bayo is not playing for Clermont. I’m keeping my original prediction but bear this in mind if having a flutter!

Monaco V Marseille - Kicks off at 2000 - Live on BT Sport Extra 2

Only the fifth game of the season but already this is a huge match. Each of these sides could potentially be the closest rivals to PSG for the title and will be fighting it out for a European place. Les Monegasque have had a really poor start. I expected them to be the team to beat this season after Paris. However they got their first win of the season just before the International break and their are signs they are close to clicking. They looked a little tired in their 2 - 1 win at Troyes which is unsurprising after their extra time defeat in Europe a few days before. Young midfielder Sofiane Diop should gain confidence with his performance against Troyes. His run forced the opening own goal and he finished well for Monaco's second.

The 21 year old was well set up after a strong run by Youssouf Fofana. There is no doubt that Les Monegasques have a good side but they have struggled to manage their League form alongside their early matches in Europe. They will come good at some point but they have a tough game here against a free scoring Marseille team. They are not helped by Striker Kevin Volland still being out with an ankle injury. Right Back Djibril Sidibe is also unlikely to play with a muscle injury.

Marseille are on a high after condemning Saint-Étienne to their first defeat of the season. Pushed on by a buoyant, fervent and roaring Stade Velodrome, Les Marseillais ran out 3 - 1 winners with goals from new signings Guendouzi, Gerson and Ünder. It was Guendouzi and Gerson's first goals for the Club whilst Winger Cengiz Ünder now has three for the season.

Ünder and fellow Winger Konrad de la Fuente have been exciting and effective this season with a lot of Marseille's attacks going through them. After the LFP's decision to ban Dimitri Payet and Alvaro Gonzalez for their reactions during the crowd trouble in Nice, both will miss this game. Payet received a one match ban whilst Gonzalez is suspended for two. Payet will be a big miss as he has been the driving force behind L'OMs early success this season. With Striker Arkadiusz Milik still out with a knee injury it will be interesting to see who plays up front here. Will Sampaoli put another attacking midfielder up front as a false 9 or give youngster Cheikh Bamba Dieng a go? Dieng came on in the final minutes of the win at Montpellier and is a more natural Centre Forward. We could see Right Back/Midfielder Pol Lirola make his first start since returning from Fiorentina after last seasons successful loan spell. I'll be interested to see where he plays with Jorge Sampaoli favouring three at the back instead of four as he did last season. The good news for Marseille is that the abandoned Nice match will be replayed behind closed doors. There were fears both Clubs would be given zero points for that game but now at least those points are still to play for. If either team win this they'll feel they can at least push for the top three.

Frenchfooty prediction: Monaco 2 V Marseille 2