Ligue 1 Preview: Round 36

After the midweek round, Marseille and Bordeaux remain locked together at the summit of the league. Meanwhile, the race for the Champions League, Europa League and to avoid the drop appear little clearer going into the final three matches.



Saturday, May 16, 2009 (all kick-off times CET)

19:00 Girondins de Bordeaux vs. Le Mans
19:00 Caen vs. Sochaux
19:00 Grenoble Foot38 vs. Nancy
19:00 Lorient vs. Le Havre
19:00 Monaco vs. Valenciennes
19:00 Saint-Etienne vs. Toulouse
21:00 Paris Saint-Germain vs. Auxerre

Sunday, May 17

17:00 Lille vs. Nice
17:00 Nantes vs. Stade Rennais
21:00 Olympique de Marseille vs. Olympique Lyonnais

Girondins de Bordeaux vs. Le Mans

Laurent Blanc’s Bordeaux outfit continue their hot pursuit of the Ligue 1 title after scrapping past Valenciennes in the most controversial circumstances on Wednesday. There was little dispute about the legitimacy of Bordeaux’s 2-1 success, however, VA were deeply upset with the performance of match official Tony Chapron.

Winning ugly is something that les Girondins, potentially such a beautiful footballing side, have specialised in of late, with Yoann Gourcuff frequently coming up with the goods at vital moments. Blanc’s men, who have won all of their last nine domestic fixtures, go into this game without Wendel. They are sweating over Ulrich Rame, who should play, and Abdou Traore, who is less likely to feature.

Arnaud Cormier has been left in a tight spot. The coach was given charge of MUC last week, with the Sarthe club really struggling for form. A defensive approach is likely on Saturday evening. Marcelo Estigarribia is out while central defender Geder returns from injury.

Caen vs. Sochaux

A crucial relegation battle will take place in Normandy on Saturday evening as Caen look to bounce back from their horrible midweek loss against Rennes when they host Sochaux, who breezed past Monaco 3-0 with some ease on Wednesday.

No new injury problems have been registered on the part of the home side, who are likely to rotate their squad a little. Benjamin Nivet still leads their list of absentees while Steve Savidan is likely to return to the fold to spearhead their attack. Anthony Deroin is likely to play a pivotal role in the centre of midfield.

Sochaux will certainly be looking to the strike duo of Mevlut Erding and Vaclav Sverkos, who have made such a profound impact in les Lionceaux’s charge away from the relegation issue in recent weeks. No major injury concerns have been reported in the camp of the Doubs side, though Sloan Privat, who suffered a relapse of a foot injury earlier in the week, is likely to be sidelined once again.

Grenoble Foot38 vs. Nancy

Both Grenoble and Nancy appear to be safe from the drop this season, however, the sides have been moving in opposite directions of late. A promising spurt from GF38 has been halted by a series of injuries and suspensions. Sofiane Feghouli, the club’s highly promising midfielder, continues to be sidelined but the bulk of the injury problems have taken hold of the defence. Jimmy Mainfroi is definitely missing with a long-term knee problem while it seems probable that Sandy Paillot and Milivoje Vitakic will both sit things out.

But goal scoring has been a major problem for Mehmet Bazdarevic’s outfit all season. With Larsen Touré and Daniel Moreira both banned, and Elliot Grandin a doubt due to family issues, these problems will only become more chronic.

Nancy, in comparison to Grenoble, have been flying of late and are unbeaten in five. Although they allowed Lorient to claw back a two-goal deficit in midweek, it was largely because ASNL had been reduced to ten men, with Abbes Ouaddou dismissed. He will be suspended for this game while Pascal Berenguer and Chris Malonga still lead the injury list.

Lorient vs. Le Havre

Le Havre make the short trip west to Brittany in the knowledge that they will be playing Ligue 2 football next season after Wednesday 4-2 defeat by Saint-Etienne was enough to ensure their unwanted passage through the relegation trapdoor. It is likely that coach Frederic Hantz will experiment somewhat with his side going into this encounter, which is of little consequence to either side.

Despite an uncertain sequence of results, Lorient are safely harboured in the centre of the French top flight and will complete a third season in Ligue 1 unharmed. Christian Gourcuff has done a fine job in the north west, uncovering such talents as Kevin Gameiro, who has really sparkled this season. The former Strasbourg man struck twice as Lorient came back from 2-0 to draw with Nancy in midweek.

There are a handful of injury problems troubling les Merlus, most notably to central defender Sylvain Marchal, who has an ankle problem, and goalkeeper Fabien Audard, who is hopeful of returning.

Monaco vs. Valenciennes

Unpredictable Monaco host a Valenciennes side still seeking a handful of points to firmly cast away the spectre of relegation. But Antoine Kombouare’s visiting side, who were left incensed by the refereeing performance as they went down 2-1 at home to Bordeaux on Wednesday night, have a plethora of selection problems.

Siaka Tiene and Luigi Pieroni were both dismissed by referee Chapron in midweek and are subsequently banned, while three front line strikers – Jean-Claude Darcheville, Gregory Pujol and Filip Sebo – all have varying degrees of injuries. Jonathan Lacourt and Djamel Belmadi have already been ruled out.

But Monaco, hammered away to Sochaux earlier in the week, also have their concerns. Alexandre Licata and Alejandro Alonso, long-term problems, are joined in the treatment room but a number of men, including Dario Simic, Juan Pablo Pino and Yohan Mollo. Les Monegasques will attempt to ensure they don’t become Valenciennes first victims on the road since August 2007.

Saint-Etienne vs. Toulouse

A morale-boosting 4-2 success over Le Havre in midweek has given Saint-Etienne reason for hope in their battle against the drop. Alain Perrin’s outfit seemed to be sliding towards Ligue 2 when they fell 2-1 behind against the top flight’s basement club but produced a strong second half performance in which they scored three times.

Perrin will urge his side to draw confidence from such a showing and will likely start with a similar XI. Blaise Matuidi continues to be a heavy doubt while Loic Perrin’s undoubted influence in the squad is still sorely missed. Daisuke Matsui, Geoffrey Dernis and Cedric Varrault are all toiling with physical problems.

Toulouse will be without only Fode Mansare, Soren Larsen and Cheikh M’Bengue, however, their problems are with form at present. Alain Casanova’s side have not been at their best since losing to Guingamp in the Coupe de France semi-final and will again look to 21-goal leading scorer Andre-Pierre Gignac for inspiration. The Europa League is still a distinct possibility.

Paris Saint-Germain vs. Auxerre

If PSG are to overcome Lyon in the battle for the final Champions League spot, victory in this encounter against in-form Auxerre is a virtual necessity. Les Parisiens ground out an unspectacular 1-0 success over Le Mans in midweek and will aim to do likewise over AJA.

Guillaume Hoarau will continue to miss out for the home side, who will certainly miss his inspiration in front of goal. Meanwhile, Sammy Traore is also missing. Doubts continue to circulate over the availability of Ludovic Giuly, who would likely partner Peguy Luyindula if fit, despite Mateja Kezman scoring the only goal in midweek.

Ireneusz Jelen’s electric form has propelled Auxerre into the top half of Ligue 1, the red-hot Pole scoring a double to overcome Grenoble in midweek. He will spearhead the Burgundy club’s offence in the Parc des Princes while long-term injury victim Julien Quercia continues his recovery. Adama Coulibaly missed out in midweek and was replaced by Jeremy Berthod.

Lille vs. Nice

Rudy Garcia’s Lille side will be somewhat disappointed by a low-key showing against Toulouse in midweek. Aside from a late effort from Eden Hazard that tested the home side’s framework, les Dogues struggled to create a real chance, despite their Champions League lives being on the line. Unless something calamitous happens with Lyon and PSG, Wednesday’s 0-0 draw means game over in that respect.

There have been no new injury problems reported by the north east club, who boast one of the strongest home records in the league. They have plenty to play for with a Europa League place on the line.

Nice, meanwhile, are in mid-table limbo, with head coach Frederic Antonetti, who has been linked to several other clubs in recent times, simply looking to finish the season on a high. Cyril Rool and Emerse Fae, regulars in the first team, are liable to miss out due to injury.

Nantes vs. Stade Rennais

Sunday’s local derby between Nantes and Rennes has a great deal riding on it. Les Canaris will be in even greater relegation danger if they fail to pick up maximum points while anything but success for Rennes would virtually spell the end of their European hopes.

It seemed unthinkable that Nantes would be drawn back into the dogfight at the bottom of the league when they pieced together a strong run early in 2009, but a 4-1 defeat by PSG evidently fractured the confidence of Elie Baup’s side, who are now in a desperate position. Aurelien Capoue is their main injury concern, with a handful of squad men also struggling.

Rennes, on the other hand, have suffered their own disappointment lately. Defeat in the Coupe de France final last weekend will have been tough to take but they bounced back well in midweek, beating Caen 1-0 with a Sylvain Marveaux inspired performance. The long-time injury problem may not have it in his legs to start this match. Jimmy Briand and Kader Mangane are certainly out while late checks will be made on Rod Fanni, Bruno Cheyrou and Olivier Thomert.