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Coupe de France Preview: Round Of 32
Competition in the Coupe de France heats up this weekend as 14 Ligue 1 sides play for a place in the last 16 while Olympique Lyonnais and Concarneau play for the right to face Olympique de Marseille on Wednesday.
| Bet: | Returns: | AS Saint-Etienne £24.00 | Draw £29.00 | Rennes £29.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | AS Saint-Etienne £24.00 | Draw £31.00 | Rennes £31.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | AS Saint-Etienne £23.50 | Draw £31.00 | Rennes £28.50 |
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Jan 23, 2009 1:09:58 PM
Tuesday January 20 2009
Guingamp (L2) 2-0 Brest (L2)
Friday January 23 2009
20:00 Ajaccio (L2) - Vannes (L2)
21:00 Dunkerque (CFA) - Lille (L1)
Saturday January 24 2009
15:00 Dijon (L2) - Villefranche (CFA)
15:00 Schirrhein (D) - Toulouse (L1)
16:00 Lorient (L1) - Tours (L2)
17:45 Boulogne-sur-Mer (L2) - Caen (L1)
18:00 Troyes (L2) - Rodez (N)
18:00 AS Vitré (CFA) - Créteil (N)
19:00 Romorantin (CFA) - Sedan (L2)
20:30 Rennes (L1) - Saint-Etienne (L1)
Sunday January 25 2009
15:00 Grande Synthe (DH) - Grenoble (L1)
15:00 Le Havre (L1) - Le Mans (L1)
17:30 GFCO Ajaccio (CFA) - Paris-SG (L1)
20:45 Monaco (L1) - Nice (L1)
TBA
Concarneau (CFA2)/ Lyon (L1) - Marseille (L1)
Of the 14 top flight clubs left in the Coupe de France, none will consider themselves to have a potentially trouble-free passage into the last 16. Those clubs that have been drawn at home, with the exception of Lorient, will face fellow top division sides while a number of the French heavyweights have been dealt potentially embarrassing hands as they travel to amateur opposition.
The last 32 of the competition is, in fact, the last 31. On Tuesday evening Guingamp needed extra-time to edge their way past fellow Ligue 2 side Brest in Brittany. These 31 teams will be whittled down steadily over the weekend as a variety of kick-off times make for a real festival of football.
Lille are the first Ligue 1 side to take the stage when they travel on Friday evening to Dunkerque, who upset Montpellier in the previous round. Although LOSC may have beat the amateurs of Sainte-Geneviève 3-0, it was nothing like as comfortable as the final score might suggest. Another battle is set to ensure on the north coast of France as this local derby will, no doubt, be a hard fought affair, however Lille will have taken great confidence from halting Rennes’ impressive 18 match unbeaten run last weekend.
On Saturday afternoon, all eyes turn to the Alsace region of the country where little Schirrhein, the seventh division minnows and lowest ranked club left in the competition, welcome a Toulouse side going well in Ligue 1. Alain Casanova’s side would be foolish to treat the Alsatians with anything but the utmost respect, particularly as le Téfécé will be without captain Étienne Didot, who is missing due to a twisted knee.
As the second half commences in the east of France, over in the west, Lorient shall tussle with a Tours side exceeding expectations in Ligue 2. Tours may have hammered Reunion Island side SS Jeanne Arc 7-1 three weeks ago but Lorient will provide a stern test. Visiting striker Olivier Giroud already has five goals in the Coupe de France and will pose their main threat.
Lorient have been going well in Ligue 1 recently and so this fixture should hold few fears for them. Christian Gourcuff will be eager to piece together a good run for the winners of the competition in 2002, who started this year’s competition by beating Alençon on penalties.
Boulogne could be the place for an upset as the home favourites have been going well in Ligue 2 this season and are currently in line for promotion to Ligue 1. On Saturday afternoon they are pitted against a Caen side that have been doing little more than treading water in the top flight in recent matches. Franck Dumas, the visiting coach, should have almost a full squad to select from for this fixture, however.
Undoubtedly the most attractive fixture on Saturday’s card is the match between Stade Rennais and Saint-Étienne, who are at contrasting ends of the Ligue 1 table yet have the potential to be very well matched. The home side lost their long unbeaten run in Lille last weekend but have been the best side on their own park in the French top division this season.
Sainté, meanwhile, tend to struggle on the road and have a number of doubtful players for this trip. Bafetimbi Gomis, Jérémy Janot, Ilan and Landrin are four certain starters who may miss out while the likes of Sylvain Monsoreau and Amine Linganzi are already out.
Six Ligue 1 sides are in action on Sunday. Grenoble will face a tricky trip to the amateurs of Grande Synthe, a team that should be easily dispatched by GF38, although, considering their inability to score goals of late in addition to the absence of Daniel Moreira, this match could be a real banana skin.
Concurrently, Le Havre host Le Mans in Normandy. Frédéirc Hantz’s home side have only losing momentum behind them, losing each of their last seven matches against top flight opposition. Indeed, it would be little surprise to see some fringe players given an opportunity to impress simply to try something a little different.
Le Mans’ form is little better. After a bright start to the season they have slid slowly down the table and even last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Saint-Étienne, which burst a losing sequence of five games on the road, was ill-deserved. MUC can draw hope from that performance, although they will again be minus Paulo André and Frédéric Thomas for this fixture.
Paris Saint-Germain face a long trip to the island of Corsica in the Mediterranean sea to face one of two sides from Ajaccio left in the competition. While AC Ajaccio knocked out AJ Auxerre in the previous round and boast a berth in Ligue 2, PSG’s opponents this weekend are GFCO Ajaccio, who offer a less illustrious story. Regularly French amateur champions in the mid-1960s, GFCO now play in CFA Group B, where they are a side in the lower part of the middle reaches having lost to Monaco’s reserves last weekend.
PSG go into the fixture with no injury problems aside from Loris Arnaud and a question mark over Claude Makélélé’s fitness. They will expect to progress with some degree of comfort.
The final match of the weekend is the derby clash between Monaco and OGC Nice. Boasting an impressive record at the ground of their fiercest rivals, Nice will back themselves to win this match, particularly as they have been playing well lately, progressing to the semi-finals of the Coupe de la Ligue with a win over Le Havre.
Monaco’s form, meanwhile, is none-too-impressive and, with a number of injury problems, including Alejandro Alonso and Camel Meriem, their task looks decidedly awkward.
Of course, there is one other fixture to be arranged. One would assume that Olympique Lyonnais will play Olympique de Marseille on Wednesday evening, however, les Gones must first negotiate their last 32 match against Concarneau after the game was controversially postponed when it was initially due to be played.
Les Gones will be missing all the usual suspects plus Kim Källström and Juninho. Ederson is still in bed suffering from a heavy cold so is not certain to play.
Marseille have taken no chances, booking hotel rooms in both Brittany and the Rhône Valley.
Robin Bairner, Goal.com
Guingamp (L2) 2-0 Brest (L2)
Friday January 23 2009
20:00 Ajaccio (L2) - Vannes (L2)
21:00 Dunkerque (CFA) - Lille (L1)
Saturday January 24 2009
15:00 Dijon (L2) - Villefranche (CFA)
15:00 Schirrhein (D) - Toulouse (L1)
16:00 Lorient (L1) - Tours (L2)
17:45 Boulogne-sur-Mer (L2) - Caen (L1)
18:00 Troyes (L2) - Rodez (N)
18:00 AS Vitré (CFA) - Créteil (N)
19:00 Romorantin (CFA) - Sedan (L2)
20:30 Rennes (L1) - Saint-Etienne (L1)
Sunday January 25 2009
15:00 Grande Synthe (DH) - Grenoble (L1)
15:00 Le Havre (L1) - Le Mans (L1)
17:30 GFCO Ajaccio (CFA) - Paris-SG (L1)
20:45 Monaco (L1) - Nice (L1)
TBA
Concarneau (CFA2)/ Lyon (L1) - Marseille (L1)
Of the 14 top flight clubs left in the Coupe de France, none will consider themselves to have a potentially trouble-free passage into the last 16. Those clubs that have been drawn at home, with the exception of Lorient, will face fellow top division sides while a number of the French heavyweights have been dealt potentially embarrassing hands as they travel to amateur opposition.
The last 32 of the competition is, in fact, the last 31. On Tuesday evening Guingamp needed extra-time to edge their way past fellow Ligue 2 side Brest in Brittany. These 31 teams will be whittled down steadily over the weekend as a variety of kick-off times make for a real festival of football.
Lille are the first Ligue 1 side to take the stage when they travel on Friday evening to Dunkerque, who upset Montpellier in the previous round. Although LOSC may have beat the amateurs of Sainte-Geneviève 3-0, it was nothing like as comfortable as the final score might suggest. Another battle is set to ensure on the north coast of France as this local derby will, no doubt, be a hard fought affair, however Lille will have taken great confidence from halting Rennes’ impressive 18 match unbeaten run last weekend.
On Saturday afternoon, all eyes turn to the Alsace region of the country where little Schirrhein, the seventh division minnows and lowest ranked club left in the competition, welcome a Toulouse side going well in Ligue 1. Alain Casanova’s side would be foolish to treat the Alsatians with anything but the utmost respect, particularly as le Téfécé will be without captain Étienne Didot, who is missing due to a twisted knee.
As the second half commences in the east of France, over in the west, Lorient shall tussle with a Tours side exceeding expectations in Ligue 2. Tours may have hammered Reunion Island side SS Jeanne Arc 7-1 three weeks ago but Lorient will provide a stern test. Visiting striker Olivier Giroud already has five goals in the Coupe de France and will pose their main threat.
Lorient have been going well in Ligue 1 recently and so this fixture should hold few fears for them. Christian Gourcuff will be eager to piece together a good run for the winners of the competition in 2002, who started this year’s competition by beating Alençon on penalties.
Boulogne could be the place for an upset as the home favourites have been going well in Ligue 2 this season and are currently in line for promotion to Ligue 1. On Saturday afternoon they are pitted against a Caen side that have been doing little more than treading water in the top flight in recent matches. Franck Dumas, the visiting coach, should have almost a full squad to select from for this fixture, however.
Undoubtedly the most attractive fixture on Saturday’s card is the match between Stade Rennais and Saint-Étienne, who are at contrasting ends of the Ligue 1 table yet have the potential to be very well matched. The home side lost their long unbeaten run in Lille last weekend but have been the best side on their own park in the French top division this season.
Sainté, meanwhile, tend to struggle on the road and have a number of doubtful players for this trip. Bafetimbi Gomis, Jérémy Janot, Ilan and Landrin are four certain starters who may miss out while the likes of Sylvain Monsoreau and Amine Linganzi are already out.
Six Ligue 1 sides are in action on Sunday. Grenoble will face a tricky trip to the amateurs of Grande Synthe, a team that should be easily dispatched by GF38, although, considering their inability to score goals of late in addition to the absence of Daniel Moreira, this match could be a real banana skin.
Concurrently, Le Havre host Le Mans in Normandy. Frédéirc Hantz’s home side have only losing momentum behind them, losing each of their last seven matches against top flight opposition. Indeed, it would be little surprise to see some fringe players given an opportunity to impress simply to try something a little different.
Le Mans’ form is little better. After a bright start to the season they have slid slowly down the table and even last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Saint-Étienne, which burst a losing sequence of five games on the road, was ill-deserved. MUC can draw hope from that performance, although they will again be minus Paulo André and Frédéric Thomas for this fixture.
Paris Saint-Germain face a long trip to the island of Corsica in the Mediterranean sea to face one of two sides from Ajaccio left in the competition. While AC Ajaccio knocked out AJ Auxerre in the previous round and boast a berth in Ligue 2, PSG’s opponents this weekend are GFCO Ajaccio, who offer a less illustrious story. Regularly French amateur champions in the mid-1960s, GFCO now play in CFA Group B, where they are a side in the lower part of the middle reaches having lost to Monaco’s reserves last weekend.
PSG go into the fixture with no injury problems aside from Loris Arnaud and a question mark over Claude Makélélé’s fitness. They will expect to progress with some degree of comfort.
The final match of the weekend is the derby clash between Monaco and OGC Nice. Boasting an impressive record at the ground of their fiercest rivals, Nice will back themselves to win this match, particularly as they have been playing well lately, progressing to the semi-finals of the Coupe de la Ligue with a win over Le Havre.
Monaco’s form, meanwhile, is none-too-impressive and, with a number of injury problems, including Alejandro Alonso and Camel Meriem, their task looks decidedly awkward.
Of course, there is one other fixture to be arranged. One would assume that Olympique Lyonnais will play Olympique de Marseille on Wednesday evening, however, les Gones must first negotiate their last 32 match against Concarneau after the game was controversially postponed when it was initially due to be played.
Les Gones will be missing all the usual suspects plus Kim Källström and Juninho. Ederson is still in bed suffering from a heavy cold so is not certain to play.
Marseille have taken no chances, booking hotel rooms in both Brittany and the Rhône Valley.
Robin Bairner, Goal.com
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