Ligue 1 Round Preview: Round 13

Saturday, November 7, 2009 (all kick-off times CET)

19:00 Le Mans vs. Auxerre
19:00 Lorient vs. Boulogne-Sur-Mer
19:00 Monaco vs. Grenoble
19:00 Nancy vs. Saint-Etienne
19:00 Paris Saint-Germain vs. Nice (full preview)
19:00 Valenciennes vs. Montpellier
21:00 Sochaux vs. Racing Club de Lens (full preview)

Sunday, November 8, 2009

17:00 Lille vs. Girondins de Bordeaux
17:00 Toulouse vs. Stade Rennais
21:00 Olympique Lyonnais vs. Olympique de Marseille (full preview Saturday from 14:00 CET)

Le Mans vs. Auxerre

Struggling for air near the foot of the table, Paulo Duarte’s Le Mans side need to pick up some positive results soon. Though the Portuguese coach is eager to point out his side aren’t playing badly, that counts for little if there are no points being won in the process.

Geder misses this fixture after being sent-off early in the 1-0 defeat against Nice last weekend – a game in which MUC might have won a point had Thorstein Helstad’s finishing been up to its usual standard. Fredrik Stromstad is injured but Gregory Cerdan is expected to return.

AJA need little encouragement to pick up results at the present time as they have arguably been the form side in the league over the last two months. With Ireneusz Jelen scoring four in his last two games, they are a dangerous prospect. Julien Quercia is nearing fitness, having turned out for the reserves last weekend, but Alexandre Licata and Kevin Lejeune continue to miss out.

Lorient vs. Boulogne-Sur-Mer

The Breton side have allowed their excellent start to the season to deteriorate just a little in recent weeks, with only one point from a possible six. Against struggling Boulogne they will eagerly aim to improve upon that record.

Christian Gourcuff, who watched his side only draw in Lens last weekend after taking the lead, is missing left-back Jeremy Morel due to adductor trouble. Yann Jouffre is also expected to be sidelined after recently returning to training following surgery. No big changes are expected in les Merlus’ side.

Laurent Guyot, head coach of Boulogne, is having another selection nightmare as a whole raft of players remain injured. The problem remains acute in the offensive sector, though Matt Moussilou’s performance last weekend was certainly the source of some hope. Damien Marcq is banned due to an accumulation of yellow cards. However, Kevin Das Neves returns for USBCO, who have lost six of their last seven.

Monaco vs. Grenoble

Monaco missed the chance to go top of the pile last weekend, when they were defeated 1-0 in Bordeaux, and found themselves relegated to third in the standings. They will fully expected to get back to winning ways on Saturday, when they host a Grenoble side still searching for their first point of the campaign.

The hosts will be without Ligue 1 top scorer Nene, who will serve out a one match ban. Eidur Gudjohnsen and Juan-Pablo Pino seem set to come back into the reckoning for Guy Lacombe’s outfit, who have yet to draw a game this season. They will certainly not expect a share of the points at the Stade Louis II on Saturday.

If Grenoble lose this game, their run will become the equal worst ever in a single Ligue 1 season. With a match against Olympique Lyonnais coming hot on the heels of this one, no point on Saturday could mean a rather embarrassing new record. Strikers Danijel Ljuboja and Pierre Boya were both withdrawn injured last weekend, adding to the club’s already horrible injury worries. David Jemmali is banned.

Nancy vs. Saint-Etienne

With four wins in their last six, Nancy are a side on surprisingly good form. Pablo Correa’s men have also won each of their last two fixtures, defeating both Grenoble and Boulogne away from home, though both victories were rather unconvincing in their manner. Prior to those games, they were hammered 3-0 by Marseille at home.

The club’s firecracker Uruguayan coach will expect his team’s good run to continue against les Verts, though there is some worry over the fitness of Youssouf Hadji, who has struck late game-winning goals in each of the last two games. Goalkeeper Gennaro Bracigliano is a doubt, but Damien Macaluso is expected to return. Michael Chretien and Florian Marange are still out.

Sainte’s injury problems are far greater, with a vast number of players out. Amongst these could be Cedric Varrault, who was injured towards the end of les Verts’ narrow derby loss to Lyon last weekend. However, Ilan has overcome swine flu and is back with the squad. Boubacar Sanogo could also compete for a first team berth.

Paris Saint-Germain vs. Nice

Click here for a full preview…

Valenciennes vs. Montpellier

The two greatest revelations of the Ligue 1 season to date go head-to-head in the north of France, with the home side buoyed by a simply fantastic 3-0 win against Rennes last weekend. While VA boast the most fearsome attack in Le Championnat to date, their defense has been pretty mean of late, not conceding in three games.

This has been achieved despite the impediment of a full treatment room, which included several first team players last weekend. Philippe Montanier will continue to sweat over the fitness of a number of men, but he will not rush anyone back due to the manner in which his team is performing at present. Meanwhile, David Ducourtioux is back from suspension.

MHSC have allowed their form to drop in the last couple of away games, heavily beaten by Rennes and then narrowly edged by Auxerre. They are without Nenad Dzodic and Alberto Costa due to suspensions. Such absences will make their task at the Stade Nungesser far trickier.

Sochaux vs. Racing Club de Lens

Click here for a full preview…

Lille vs. Girondins de Bordeaux

These two sides suffered very different European evenings this week. While Bordeaux scored a last minute second against Bayern Munich to book their passage through to the last 16 of the Champions League, Lille conceded a painful goal at the death to slip to a 3-2 defeat in Genoa after coming back from two down.

LOSC didn’t take a full compliment of players with them to Italy, so the likes of Rio Mavuba and Eden Hazard, who were being saved for Sunday’s big game, will come immediately back into the fray. There are no serious injuries in the home squad, though Nicolas Plestan continues to miss out. Tulio de Melo is due to return soon.

Bordeaux will be buoyant and well rested after their trip to Germany. Les Girondins, who defeated Die Roten 2-0 thanks to goals from Yoann Gourcuff and Marouane Chamakh, will want to maintain such momentum against Lille. Only Henrique is missing from Laurent Blanc’s panel.

Toulouse vs. Stade Rennais

Alain Casanova once again made it perfectly clear where his priorities lie this season as he fielded a largely fringe squad to tackle UEFA Cup holders Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday evening. All of le Tefece’s top names were left on the bench, with the likes of Xavier Pentecote and Mathieu Berson getting the chance to taste first team football. As a result, the Pink City club lost 2-0.

Sunday’s game against Rennes will be treated far more severely. Toulouse have been going well in Ligue 1, winning two of their last three and securing a 1-1 draw away to Olympique de Marseille last weekend, despite the impediment of Yohann Pele’s early dismissal. The goalkeeper is banned for this game and joins the likes of center-back Mauro Cetto on the sidelines.

Rennes also have some key absentees. Jerome Leroy and Moussa Sow continue to recover after picking up knocks in the 3-0 win over Montpellier a fortnight ago. While that result ended emphatically in the Bretons’ favor, they slumped to a miserable 3-0 loss to Valenciennes last weekend, canceling out their previous good work. Jimmy Briand is closing in on a comeback after a lengthy period of absence.

Olympique Lyonnais vs. Olympique de Marseille

A full preview will be available on Saturday from 14:00 CET.

Robin Bairner, Goal.com

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