During the mid-week, Ligue 1 teams had mixed results. At the Stade Velodrome, Marseille were able to knock off Chelsea by a score of 1-0, which could have actually been more for Marseille. The other two teams in the Champions League didn’t fare as well, as Lyon drew against Tel Aviv and Auxerre lost to Marseille.
So how will those teams do this weekend? Here is our Saturday Matchday 17 preview.
Brest vs. Montpellier – This might be the story of two teams heading in different directions. Last week, Brest weren’t the most impressive team against Paris St. Germain. On the other hand Montpellier looked great, even though it was in a losing effort.
While both teams have had decent showings this season, neither team have really shown that they have gelled. Both have decent scorers, but both have great defenses. This could easily be a 1-0 game, but for who?
Up front, I think that Brest have a little bit of an edge right now over Montpellier. While Montpellier’s Olivier Giroud has had a decent season, Nolan Roux always seems to find a way to slip by the defenders. Therefore, I’m going with Roux and Brest in a 1-0 win.
Caen vs. Nice – Caen continues to be one of the biggest disappointments of the season while Nice is right about where people expected them to be. And after Nice’s last minute win against Marseille last week, anything is possible for the struggling team.
But will Nice be able to build off of this win. Caen had a string of impressive performances at the start of the season and were not able to turn it into anything later on.
This isn’t expected to be a “game to watch”. Both offenses are horrible. Caen’s defense is horrible. At least Nice has decent defense and goalkeeping. That should be the factor that led Nice to a 1-0 victory on the road.
Lorient vs. Lens – Last week wasn’t exactly the best for Lorient as they were destroyed by Lille by a score of 6-3. Still, even with allowing six goals against the best offense in Ligue 1 right now, that should be a factor in their match against Lens.
The good news for Lorient is that they offense is starting to pick up. The bad news is that they don’t spread the ball around as much as, lets say, Lyon does. Therefore, opposing teams pretty much know that the likelihood that Kevin Gameiro is going to be the goalscorer is pretty high. Therefore, opposing defenses can target Gameiro.
Even with that said, Lens’ defense hasn’t looked that great this season. And while they do have some decent players, it still haven’t been enough this season. Therefore, expect Lorient to explode offensively and win this match by a healthy score. I see 3-1.
Nancy vs. Sochaux – Nancy is just looking bad. And years of mediocre play might be finally catching up to them. Sochaux seem to be hanging in there, and might be a team in the future to look at.
Sochaux has been able to rely on some talented youngsters to get their team jump-started. In goal, Pierrick Cros has put in a number of strong performances. Marvin Martin still continues to be one of the best playmakers in Ligue 1. In addition, all of the players on the team seem to be contributing to Sochaux’s early season success. I think they will use this match to make a statement with a 2-0 win.
Arles-Avignon vs. Lille – Really? Next. Oh, 5-0 Lille.
Valenciennes vs. Paris St. Germain – Paris St. Germain has been one of the hottest teams in Ligue 1. That streak should continue on the road to Valenciennes, but anything could happen. PSG has shown that they look good both offensively and defensively. And if it wasn’t for Edel making some bonehead mistakes, then they could even have more points.
But Valenciennes is a team that could give PSG some trouble. Their offense is lead by Gregory Pujol and Gael Danic, both having solid seasons. They could easily give the PSG defense some trouble. Therefore, Edel having a strong performance is key for the Paris side. Don’t be surprised if this match ends up in a draw. Still, I’m picking PSG with a 2-1 victory.
Auxerre vs. Marseilles – L’OM looked impressive in their match against Chelsea. Auxerre looked horrible in their match against Real Madrid.
For Auxerre, everything has gone wrong. Both of their top offensive threats, Anthony Le Tallec and Ireneusz Jelen, have been injured. Le Tallec is expected to play this weekend. Even so, they are now without the services of their team leader Benoit Pedretti, as he is expected to be out for a month.
All of these injuries have led to a poor season for Auxerre. While still five points clear of the relegation zone, the piling up of injuries can take their toll. And seeing a possible way of Auxerre pulling off a win again Marseille is, well, actually impossible.
Expect a Marseille win, and we are saying 3-0.
Finally, I just want to apologize ahead of time for such a quick and not well thought out preview, as well as lack of proofreading, of tomorrow’s matches. I have a huge headache and just doing this was a job. Hopefully will have a better one up tomorrow for Sunday’s matches.
