Friday, August 19, 2011

Ligue 1 Preview: Round 3

Saturday
Bordeaux - Auxerre
Stade Brestois - Lyon
Caen - Lille
Dijon - FC Lorient
Nice - Toulouse
AC Ajaccio - Evian TG

Sunday
Montpellier - Stade Rennes
Nancy - Sochaux
PSG - Valenciennes
Marseille - Saint Etienne

Bordeaux - Auxerre

Bordeaux are winless in their first two Ligue 1 games this term, needing a 90th minute equaliser from Henrique to steal a point at FC Lorient last weekend.
Auxerre produced a stirring comeback to hold Marseille 2-2 last Sunday, having found themselves 2-0 down at half-time. Laurent Fournier's side sit 17th.
AJA are winless in their last 10 matches played in August.
Les Girondins have prevailed in all but two of their last eight encounters against Saturday's visitors

TEAM NEWS

Bordeaux

Francois Gillot has no fresh injury concerns ahead of this tie, with Les Girondins expected to line up more or less the same as last weekend.

Auxerre

Laurent Fournier is still without the services of Cedric Hengbert who is nursing a torn ankle ligament and is out for a further two-three weeks. Goalkeeper Olivier Sorin, and forward Yaya Sanogo are also in the physio room, they also missed the draw against Marseille.

Stade Brestois - Lyon

Stade Brestois' steady start to the season continued with a 0-0 draw away to Valenciennes last week. Alex Dupont's side have two points from two matches
Lyon were frustratingly held to a 1-1 draw against promoted side Ajaccio last weekend. Lisandro's late equaliser spared the blushes of the former champions.
Stade Brestois have failed to win their last five home league games
Les Gones have lost four of their last six trips to Stade Francis La Ble.
Remi Garde's side were involved in midweek Champions League action. Despite an early setback, Lyon rallied to beat Rubin Kazan 3-1 and put themselves firmly in the driving seat for the group stage.

TEAM NEWS

Stade Brestois

No short term worries for Alex Dupont to mull over. Brahim Ferradj is out until 2012 with a torn knee ligament. Moise Brou Apanga is out with a damaged knee cartilage and won't be expected back until mid-October. Brest expected to line up as they did last weekend

Lyon

Bakary Kone made his league debut last week, and is again expected to stay in the Les Gones starting 11. Remi Garde's men came through their Champions League qualifier unscathed, and could field a rotated side ahead of their trip to Russia in midweek.

Caen - Lille

Caen followed up a season-opening victory by making it two out of two as they defeated Sochaux 2-1 at Stade Auguste Bonal.
A heroic performance from Laurent Pionnier thwarted league champions Lille as they were undone 1-0 by a resurgent Montpellier last Sunday.
Rudi Garcia's men scored an average of four goals a game in each of their encounters against Les Malherbes.
Franck Dumas' are unbeaten in their last nine league matches.

TEAM NEWS

Caen

Franck Dumas has the luxury of a fully-fit squad to pick from for the visit of the league champions.

Lille

No such worries for Rudi Garcia either, with the only main concern coming from David Rozehnal, who is still sidelined with a knee problem.

 FCODijon - FC Lorient

Newly-promoted Dijon are going through a reality check as they struggle in their maiden Ligue 1 campaign. Patrice Carteron's men were beaten 2-0 by Toulouse to stay rock bottom.
Lorient drew 1-1 with Bordeaux last weekend, amassing four points from two games.
Les Merlus have won only one of their last seven league matches.
Christian Gourcuff has named the exact same line-up in both of the first two matchdays.

TEAM NEWS

Dijon

No new injury worries for Patrice Carteron's side, who have already fielded 20 different players in Ligue 1 this season.

FC Lorient

Christian Gourcuff has no major concerns surrounding team line-up. A more attacking line-up may be deployed to tackle the threat of the newly promoted side.

OGC Nice - Toulouse FC

OGC Nice suffered a shock defeat at the hands of promoted side Evian TG last weekend to remain pointless in Ligue 1.
Toulouse's usual great start to the season didn't look like ending any time soon as they swept to a 2-0 victory over Dijon.
Le Tefece have won their last four Ligue 1 games, all by a 2-0 scoreline.
Les Aiglons have lost their last three league matches, yet are unbeaten in four games against Alain Casanova's side.

TEAM NEWS

OGC Nice

Les Aiglons are sweating on the fitness of Francois Clerc who has been sidelined with a hip problem. The former Lyon defender is doubtful for the game, but could feature.

Toulouse

Alain Casanova has been boosted with the news that Daniel Braaten and Etienne Didot are back for the match at Stade du Ray. Le Tefece are searching for a third straight win.

AC Ajaccio - Evian Thonon Gaillard

The clash of the promoted sides takes place this weekend, with both sides recording morale-boosting results in matchday two.
Ajaccio held Lyon 1-1 away at the Stade Gerland last weekend, with Olivier Pantaloni's men minutes away from a shock victory.
Evian beat Nice 1-0 in their previous match, to record their first ever Ligue 1 win.
Bernard Casoni has only won once on his travels with a Ligue 1 club.

TEAM NEWS

AC Ajaccio

No injury news to report from Olivier Pantaloni's team. Expected to field the same XI that drew impressively against Lyon.

Evian TG

Evian have been rocked by the news that Sasa Cilinsek will miss the next two to three weeks with a hip problem. The Serb joins Bertrand Laquait in the physio's room.

HSCMontpellier - Stade Rennais FC

Montpellier had Laurent Pionnier to think after an inspired display contributed to a smash-and-grab win away at league holders Lille on Sunday evening.
Stade Rennes drew 1-1 with nouveau-riche PSG last weekend. Les Rouge et Noir have four points from a possible six.
The visitors have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last seven away games.
La Paillade have not tasted defeat in a league match played in August for three seasons.

TEAM NEWS

Montpellier

Rene Girard has the luxury of a fully fit squad to for the visit of Les Rouge et Noir.

Stade Rennes

Frederic Antoinetti can recall Vincent Pajot, Onyekachi Apam, Chris Mavinga and Jires Kembo-Ekoko to the side following various injuries and suspensions in recent weeks. Rennes did play a Europa League qualifier in midweek, so could field a rotated side on Sunday.

Nancy - FC Sochaux

Nancy are still searching for a first win of the season after they were defeated by Saint Etienne 1-0 at Geoffrey Guichard last Saturday.
Sochaux suffered a demoralising 2-1 defeat at home to Caen on matchday two.
Mehmed Bazdarevic have failed to win any of their last five trips to Stade Marcel Picot.
Pascal Berenguer of Nancy has scored in the last three home games.

TEAM NEWS

Nancy

Jean Fernandez has no pressing injury concerns.

Sochaux

David Sauget, Jeremie Brechet and Steven Mouykolo are back with the squad, along with Vaclav Sverkos in what could be a huge boost to Mehmed Bazdarevic.

PSG - Valenciennes

Capital club PSG failed to win for the second successive game as they were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw away to Stade Rennes on matchday two.
Valenciennes are also winless in Ligue 1 after drawing 0-0 with Brest. Daniel Sanchez's side have collected one point from a possible six.
The visitors are the only side who have yet to score a goal this season in Ligue 1.
PSG have failed to win their last seven league games.
Les Parisiens were in Europa League action on Thursday, beating Luxembourg's Differdange 4-0. Javier Pastore notched two assists.

TEAM NEWS

PSG

Antoine Koumbouare is without captain Mamadou Sakho who suffered a hip injury last week in Rennes. The French international left the field in tears and is with Christophe Jallet on the treatmant table. Argentinian midfielder Javier Pastore is in the frame for a Ligue 1 debut as he came through Thursday's Europa League qualifier in impressive fashion.

Valenciennes

No injury or suspension concerns from the Valenciennes camp.

Marseille - AS Saint-Etienne

Marseille continued their unique run of successive 2-2 draws by ending the match against Auxerre by that scoreline - for a record fifth time in a row. L'OM let slip a two goal lead.
Saint Etienne are one of four teams who remain on a 100% start to the season - by beating Nancy 1-0.
Loïc Rémy has netted in seven consecutive Ligue 1 appearances - something that hasn't been achieved since 2003.
It's been 32 years since Les Verts recorded a win at the Stade Velodrome. Christophe Galtier's men haven't won there in 17 attempts.

TEAM NEWS

Marseille

Didier Deschamps is still without Andre Pierre Gignac, who remains injured. The forward is continuing to recover from an ankle injury that has kept him out for a month. Nicholas N'Koulou also remains doubtful for l'OM. Djimi Traore is touted as a new signing at the Velodrome, bringing in cover for the defence. Cesar Azpilicueta is in line for a start at right-back, with the young Spaniard given the nod ahead of Rod Fanni.

Saint Etienne

Les Verts have two long-term injury worries. Alejandro Alonso and Yoann Andreu (knee) are out until December, with no short-term concerns surrounding the club ahead of Sunday's clash.