Ligue 1 Preview: Round 10

Saturday, October 24, 2009 (all kick-offs CET)

19:00 Girondins de Bordeaux vs. Le Mans
19:00 Boulogne-Sur-Mer vs. Monaco
19:00 Grenoble vs. Nancy
19:00 Nice vs. Olympique Lyonnais (full preview)
19:00 Saint-Etienne vs. Valenciennes
19:00 Sochaux vs. Lorient
21:00 Stade Rennais vs. Montpellier (full preview)

Sunday, October 25, 2009

17:00 Auxerre vs. Lille
17:00 Racing Club de Lens vs. Toulouse
21:00 Olympique de Marseille vs. Paris Saint-Germain

Girondins de Bordeaux vs. Le Mans

Life in the Champions League on Wednesday night against Bayern Munich was not as easy for les Girondins as it might have been. Laurent Blanc’s side should really have taken advantage of their two penalty chances to run up a significant victory, but their 2-1 success will have to suffice.

Unbeaten at home in league play for two years, Bordeaux will go into this match flush with confidence, especially as their head coach will have close to a full squad of players to select from. Only Henrique is expected to sit out, though there could be some light rotation in the side after the midweek success, with the likes of Fernando Cavenaghi and Yoan Gouffran bursting for a piece of the action.

Le Mans, meanwhile, have tumbled to 17th in the league. Paulo Duarte’s side threw away two points last weekend against fellow strugglers Boulogne and will still be smarting from that 1-1 draw. Several fringe players are in line to miss out for the Sarthe side, who could drop into the red zone should they lose, as seems likely.

Boulogne-Sur-Mer vs. Monaco

Injury-plagued Boulogne summoned all their resolve in stoppage time last weekend to plunder a 1-1 draw against Le Mans. Substitute Fabrice Robert, nephew of former Newcastle United start Laurent, was the hero, turning the ball in from virtually on the goal-line to grab a precious point.

Every match is something of a battle for Laurent Guyot’s side at the moment, and every mistake is crucial. Goalkeeper Mathieu Valverde may have made just one slip too many and stands to be replaced by Ibrahim Kone. Boulogne’s main worries still lie in the treatment room, where key player Gregory Thil leads an unhealthily long injury list.

USBCO may be slowly sinking, but Monaco are buoyant. Guy Lacombe’s side climbed to fourth and seem to have ironed out their early-season inconsistencies. Eidur Gudjohnsen remains sidelined, but that’s not a great issue with Nene in such outstanding form. With seven goals in nine matches, the Brazilian is Ligue 1’s unlikely top scorer.

Grenoble vs. Nancy

It’s now Matchday 10 and still Mecha Bazdarevic’s Grenoble side seek their first point of the campaign. Even a goal is some cause of celebration, as they have only found the net on four occasions. With a pitiful attack and a porous defence, things don’t look particularly good for the Stade des Alpes club.

There is some good news on the injury front as starting central defender Sandy Paillot is hopeful of reporting for first team action, though forward Josip Tadic is primed to again miss out. Having conceded 11 times in the opening half hour of games this season, Bazdarevic will want his side to be vigilant from the off.

Nancy started the season in very nice touch but have lost such fluidity in their play. Indeed, they now find themselves 13th, with just one win in seven. However, they have played three of the big four during that spell and have suffered from some acute injury problems, which have not eased greatly before this one.

Nice vs. Olympique Lyonnais

Click here for a full preview…

Saint-Etienne vs. Valenciennes

Prior to the international break Saint-Etienne had a good bit of momentum about their play. Nice were smashed in the Coupe de la Ligue and Bordeaux’s six month unbeaten run was ended in impressive fashion, but the pause disrupted les Verts’ rhythm and they suffered a fully merited 2-1 loss against Montpellier last time out.

There are issues in the full-back roles for Alain Perrin’s side, who lost Mouhamadou Dabo early on last week and would then see Yohan Andreu dismissed, meaning he will miss this fixture. Cedric Varrault is also expected to miss out, though Loic Perrin and Boubacar Sanogo have started rehabilitation after injury concerns.

Valenciennes are certainly a team that know all about selection problems, and they have snapped up former Celtic defender Bobo Balde to add a little more depth to their squad as Rafael could potentially miss quite some time. Despite missing a whole raft of players, VA have been going along well of late, winning three of four and scoring an impressive 12 goals in the process.

Sochaux vs. Lorient

Rocked by the news of Charlie Davies’ serious injuries last weekend, les Lionceaux responded magnificently, securing an unexpected 2-0 victory away to league leaders Olympique Lyonnais. Francis Gillot’s outfit have not always been good this season, yet they still sit 11th, illustrating just how gritty they can be.

With the dust settled on Davies’ story, Sochaux are starting to cope with life minus their American international star. Indeed, there has been much talk of a ‘joker’ signing, with Saint-Etienne’s Kevin Mirallas touted as one player who could possibly make the jump east.

Lorient have few such headaches, although left-back Jeremy Morel faces three months on the sidelines because of a groin issue. Otherwise les Merlus are going along superbly, claiming 17 points in their opening nine games to match the pace of Marseille in the standings. Kevin Gameiro and Arnold Mvuemba were outstanding last weekend and coach Christian Gourcuff will want such form to continue.

Stade Rennais vs. Montpellier

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Auxerre vs. Lille

Jean Fernandez’s home side have caused something of a stir in recent weeks, claiming a rare away victory over Rennes and following that up with success over Bordeaux. However, these victories should not mask AJA’s deficiencies in front of goal – they have only seven strikes to their name this season.

Alexandre Licata and Julien Quercia have yet to kick a ball for the Burgundy outfit this season, and that has certainly not aided their quest for goals. Meanwhile attacking midfielder Kevin Lejeune faces a significant spell on the sidelines due to injury. Ireneusz Jelen has yet to get off the mark in this campaign after being so prolific last term.

Meanwhile, Lille are still hoping to translate their stunning European form into something tangible in Ligue 1. Rooted in the middle of the table, LOSC showed their potential with a terrific 3-0 win over Serie A outfit Genoa on Thursday and will again look to build from such a result.

Racing Club de Lens vs. Toulouse

Sitting 18th already, Lens would appear to be facing a grim battle in which they will be fighting to preserve their Ligue 1 status. Boasting one of the most passionate supports in the French game, Jean-Guy Wallemme’s side really need to step up the gears offensively as they have simply scored too few goals, particularly in recent weeks.

Injury-wise, there is only an issue with Alaeddine Yahia, who was restricted to jogging in Wednesday’s training session after picking up a problem in last weekend’s loss against Monaco.

Toulouse go into this game on something of a low. They were comprehensively hammered 4-0 in midweek by Shakhtar Donetsk, and even if the club’s star players weren’t in attendance from the outset, it’s hardly the ideal way to approach any match. Key centre-back Mauro Cetto remains absent, but he is the only important player le Tefece will likely be shorn of.

Olympique de Marseille vs. Paris Saint-Germain

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

Robin Bairner, Goal.com