Ligue 1 Preview: Round 16

With the race for Ligue 1 supremacy hotting up after PSG's success over Lyon last weekend, the pre-Christmas period could prove vital. The leaders face Valenciennes this weekend but the keynote fixture of the card is les Parisiens' trip to Rennes.

Nov 28, 2008 11:48:19 AM

Ligue 1 : Guirane NDaw (Nantes) vs Landry NGuemo (Nancy)

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Ligue 1 : Guirane NDaw (Nantes) vs Landry NGuemo (Nancy)

Teams

Saturday 29 November 2008 (all kick-off times CET)

1900 AJ Auxerre vs. AS Monaco
1900 Le Havre AC vs. FC Nantes
1900 Le Mans UC72 vs. SM Caen
1900 Lille OSC vs. FC Lorient
1900 Olympique Lyonnais vs. Valenciennes FC
1900 OGC Nice vs. Grenoble Foot38
2100 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard vs. Girondins de Bordeaux

Sunday 30 November

1700 AS Nancy-Lorraine vs. AS Saint-Étienne
1700 Toulouse FC vs. Olympique de Marseille
2100 Stade Rennais vs. Paris Saint-Germain

AJ Auxerre vs. AS Monaco

Both of these sides share plenty of similarities going into this match on Saturday. Auxerre and Monaco have started the season in mediocre fashion while will both approach this fixture with plenty of bumps and bruises in their respective squads to keep the physios busy.

AJA have a much more reliable defence than their guests and are particularly difficult to break down at home. Jean Fernandez, who will likely start with Julien Quercia on the wing now that he is fit, shall set his side up in a counter-punching manner, with Niculae at the peak of a 4-2-3-1 system. Kévin Lejeune is banned while Ireneusz Jelen and key midfielder Benoit Pedretti are both still injured. Also missing is Jérémy Berthod.

Ricardo, head coach of Monaco, has injury concerns all over the field. Injuries to Serge Gakpé and Djamel Bakar continue to deplete the offensive pool while Zola is missing from the midfield. Defender Vincent Muratori and goalkeeper Stéphane Ruffier are expected to return next week.

Le Havre AC vs. FC Nantes

Two of the three promoted sides go head-to-head in Normandy on Saturday evening, with both sides in equal need of the points. Each side has managed to accrue 12 points to date and both clubs have very similar league records. This match will have been pinpointed as crucial by both head coaches, who will be looking for some Christmas comfort by accelerating away from the drop zone.

Against the final promoted side, Grenoble, last weekend, Le Havre mustered a respectable draw. Yannick Boli comes back into contention after shaking off an injury that caused him to miss the 1-1 draw but Christophe Revault and Abasse Ba are added to their list of injury worries, which is, admittedly, pretty short. Gueida Fofana is missing while Cédric Fauré is also likely to sit out.

Seven of Nantes’ eight away games have ended in defeat already this season but, in this important early season match-up, it is imperative that les Jeunes avoid a loss. Key holding midfielder Guirane N’Daw (pictured right) is suspended while regular central defender Michael Gravgaard is injured.

Le Mans UC72 vs. SM Caen

Yves’ Bertucci’s Le Mans side have failed to build on a highly impressive start to the season as they have now lost four of their last five Ligue 1 matches. This is a far from an encouraging statistic for a young side that showed signs of losing heart as they capitulated to a three-nil defeat against Monaco last weekend.

The Sarthe side have a relatively small squad but there is plenty of depth on the bench to allow rotation from within the group. Bertucci, head coach of the club, will be thankful he has no injury or suspension worries for this match against Normandy club, Caen.

Les Malherbes had been going through a rather barren patch themselves in recent times before a fine home victory over Auxerre last weekend. Franck Dumas’ side have been unfortunately riddled with injuries of late and it will take until after the Christmas break for the situation to ease any. Anthony Deroin, Grégory Leca, Juan Eluchans and Fahid Ben Kahlfallah are all missing. Stéphane Zubar is preparing to leave with the Guadeloupe national side for the Gold Cup.

Lille OSC vs. FC Lorient

Pegged back having led 2-0 in Marseille last weekend, Rudy Garcia will be looking for a positive response from his young Lille side. LOSC were excellent for 45 minutes against Olympique de Marseille, with the likes of Rio Mavuba and Florent Balmont to the fore, but they were too easily drawn back in the end, even if it did take an injury time strike.

Pierre-Alain Frau made a welcome return to first team action from the bench and he will be again included in les Dogues squad for the weekend’s tie against Lorient. There are still doubts over the fitness of several players including Grégory Tafforeau, Tulio de Melo, Franck Béria, Ludovic Obraniak and Jerry Vandam. The latter two are expected to sit out with Eden Hazard starting.

If there is a head coach that knows about injury concerns then it is Lorient’s Christian Gourcuff. He has not been able to pick his first eleven all season and is still shorn of several players. Jérémy Morel, Rafik Saifi, Yann Jouffre, Christophe Jallet and Ulrich Le Pen are all regulars that will sit out but that has harmed les Merlus little in the recent past as they have won four of their last six.

Olympique Lyonnais vs. Valenciennes FC

It is not common that Olympique Lyonnais are asked to kick-off at the ‘usual’ Saturday evening slot but their fixture against struggling Valenciennes is not deemed exciting enough by the Ligue to merit television coverage. VA will sit in and try to hold out against a Lyon side keen to bounce back from a loss against PSG last weekend.

Often general manager Claude Puel has seen his team struggle against ultra-defensive sides and has relied on Karim Benzema to break them down. ‘Benzegol’ is missing after picking up a thigh injury during a quite brilliant performance against Fiorentina in midweek, a match Lyon won 2-1. Toulalan is doubtful with a foot problem and young full-back Lamine Gassama is also struggling. Juninho starts a two game ban after being sent-off in the Parc des Princes while Anthony Réveillère, François Clerc, Miralem Pjanic and Mathieu Bodmer are all injured.

Under-pressure VA head coach, Antoine Kombouaré could not have wished for a tougher fixture as his side search for their first win since August. The club remains stoically behind their coach, who will be without Rafael Schmitz and Filip Sebo due to injury and the suspended Jonathan Lacourt.

OGC Nice vs. Grenoble Foot38

Second placed Nice entertain Grenoble in what promises to be a fascinating encounter at the Stade du Ray. Les Aiglons have won each of their last five Ligue 1 matches but did not do so in particularly impressive fashion against Saint-Étienne last weekend.

Head coach Frédéric Antonetti has no injury or suspension worries but he may tinker with the side a little, switching away from last weekend’s 4-4-2 to play a 4-3-3 system in order to accommodate top scorer Loïc Rémy, who is still making tentative steps back from injury.

Mehmet Bazdarevic, who will be keen that his side do not lose any more of their early season momentum (they have won only one of their last eight), will be without Jimmy Mainfroi, who is a long-term concern, Larsen Touré and back-up stopper Paul Cattier. Grenoble’s head coach will wait on the fitness of Maxene Flachez.

FC Sochaux-Montbéliard vs. Girondins de Bordeaux

Francis Gillot’s Sochaux side continue to fight in the relegation zone but are merely treading water at present. Last weekend’s 2-2 draw in Valenciennes will have been met with mixed emotions because Sochaux took the lead before requiring a late header from young forward Sloan Privat to level the scores.

Les Lionceaux are certainly not a side accustomed to scoring many goals so the presence of Turkish star Mevlut Erding in attack is vital. Defensively, Sochaux could be without a number of bodies. Holding midfielder Romain Pitau is banned while Stéphane Pichot and Jacques Faty head a pretty lengthy list of absentees in the rearguard. Midfielder Ryad Boudabouz and Nicolas Maurice-Belay are both doubts.

A 1-1 draw with Chelsea in midweek kept Bordeaux’s Champions League dream alive in midweek. Goal scoring hero, Alou Diarra, was terrific against the English club and will start in Doubs. Other changes could be made due to fatigue, with Bordeaux going to a 4-4-2 system. Although they have no players currently on the treatment table, there are several men who are not thought to be ready for first team football as yet. Henrique and Henri Saivet will sit out while goalkeeper Ulrich Ramé is hopeful of a return from adductor problems.

AS Nancy-Lorraine vs. AS Saint-Étienne

Sunday afternoon will see two of last season’s high-fliers attempt to further stave off the threat of relegation when they come head-to-head at the Stade Marcel-Pichot. Nancy have been battling away like bulldogs in recent weeks, never giving anything up and working sufficiently hard to make up for a lack of quality in their ranks.

This situation is not aided by a number of injury problems. Abbes Ouaddou, Michael Chretien are the key absentees for the Lorraine club but a number of squad players are also missing and that is having an impact on how frequently head coach Pablo Correa can rotate his side, leading to fatigue in the starting players.

Sainté head coach Alain Perrin knows all too well the damage injuries can do to his squad. The defence remains decimated despite the likely return of Loïc Perrin from injury. Stathis Tavlarids, Sylvain Monsoreau, David Sauget and Mahamadou Dabo are all likely to sit out until the early stages of next year while Bayal Sall has another ten days to sit out banned. Christophe Landrin is their other absentee.

Toulouse FC vs. Olympique de Marseille

Recent results have been a real mixed bag for both of these sides, with Toulouse dropping to seventh in the Ligue 1 standings after initially holding a place in the top three. Such a lofty finish would not have been expected of Alain Casanova’s men preseason as avoiding relegation was their aim.

As such, victory will not be demanded by the home faithful on Sunday afternoon. Le Téfécé will command respect from their guests as they have lost only once at home this season, conceding three goals en route. Former Marseille goalkeeper, Cédric Carrasso, has been a key reason for this. Unavailability is hardly rife in the Pink City as only third choice keeper Olivier Blondel and Daniel Braaten are carrying knocks while Mathieu Berson is banned for a further three games.

Eric Gerets watched his Olympique de Marseille side crash out of the Champions League in midweek due to a slightly unfortunate 1-0 loss against Liverpool. Their defensive frailties were not particularly evident in that match, unlike the 2-2 draw against Lille last Sunday.

Modest Mbami and El Amin Erbate remain absent due to injury concerns while Mathieu Valbuena seems unlikely to feature despite playing a hugely surprising cameo at Anfield – he was reckoned to be out until Christmas.

Stade Rennais vs. Paris Saint-Germain

Two of Ligue 1’s quick starting sides meet in Brittany on Sunday evening for what promises to be an intriguing fixture. Rennes possess the longest unbeaten record in Ligue 1 while Paris Saint-Germain are coming off the back of a series of fine results, including successes of Olympique Lyonnais and Olympique de Marseille.

Guy Lacombe’s side will possess the controversial figure of Jimmy Briand in attack. The effervescent forward went AWOL from the Breton side’s preseason training camp after the club refused to sanction a move to PSG in the summer.

Rennes will have to do without Olivier Thomas as he broke his fibula last weekend while Julien Esteban, Patrice Luzi and Sylvain Marveaux are also missing.

Fresh from a 2-2 draw against Racing Santander, Paul Le Guen will rotate his PSG side back into their strongest state. Ludovic Giuly, Guillaume Hoarau, Claude Makélélé and Stéphane Sessegnon were amongst the names left on the bench on Thursday and all will be restored to the starting eleven. Loris Arnaud is the only absentee.

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