20:45 Olympique Lyonnais – Nancy
Saturday, February 19
19:00 Auxerre – Arles-Avignon
19:00 Stade Brestois – Monaco
19:00 Caen – Valenciennes
19:00 Racing Club de Lens – Sochaux
19:00 Olympique de Marseille – Saint-Etienne (preview)
21:00 Lorient - Girondins de Bordeaux
Sunday, February 20
17:00 Montpellier – Lille
17:00 Nice – Paris Saint-Germain
21:00 Toulouse - Stade Rennais
Olympique Lyonnais – Nancy
Lyon’s home encounter against Nancy has been moved forward nearly 24 hours in order to allow les Gones a little extra rest ahead of next week’s Champions League encounter against Real Madrid.
Les Gones have a handful of selection issues before the clash against the Lorraine club, with Ederson ready to make his return for the reserves but not yet ready for first team football. Michel Bastos has been training alone but has been named in the squad, while Hugo Lloris is doubtful.
Nancy have problems of their own, with Reynald Lemaitre ruled out after a week-long battle against injury. Samba Diakite will feature, but there are a number of other players still absent. After mixing his side up after a succession of poor results, Pablo Correa shouldn’t change too much at the weekend following the impressive win over Auxerre.
Auxerre – Arles-Avignon
If Auxerre are to start making progress up the Ligue 1 table, they have to pick off the likes of basement side Arles, who visit the Stade Abbe-Deschamps on Saturday evening.
Jean Fernandez has received the backing of the AJA board, despite the club slipping to 17th in the standings. Selection problems in the home camp continue to intensify, with Dennis Oliech missing this weekend’s game due to suspension. Benoit Pedretti will hope to return following hamstring troubles, but there is a lengthy list of problems.
Arles picked up only their ninth point of the campaign against Montpellier last weekend, and they were very much value for it after a determined defensive display at home. This season is all about attaining respectability for the Parc des Sports outfit, whose meagre tally of points means they need a miracle to survive. Franck Dja Djedje and Cyril Merville are fresh selection problems.
Stade Brestois – Monaco
A 3-1 victory over Lorient last weekend has fired feelings of belief in the Monaco camp that safety may not be an unattainable goal, though Saturday’s trip to Brest certainly promises to be a tricky encounter for the principality outfit.
It’s been announced that the hosts will be without Nolan Roux until early April, which places added emphasis on new signing Jonathan Ayite to perform well. He scored in his only previous performance at the Stade Francis Le Ble and will lead the SB29 attack once again on Saturday evening.
Monaco, meanwhile, haven’t posted any fresh injury problems to add to the handful of issues they had last week. Les Monegasques looked impressive in dispatching FCL last weekend at home, but prior to that they had been positively turgid in Toulouse. New coach Laurent Banide needs his players to show a positive face on Saturday.
Caen – Valenciennes
Franck Dumas’ Caen will aim to keep their upward momentum away from the relegation zone going when they meet a Valenciennes side who have attained a couple of strong results in recent weeks.
The home boss has already named his panel for the fixture and will include Thomas Heurtaux in his number for the match. Romain Hamouma is very much the man on form for les Malherbes out on the right wing, but Youssef El-Arabi has been the key man over the course of the season, with Olympique de Marseille reportedly tracking his progress.
Valenciennes will sweat on the fitness of Milan Bisevac for this encounter, but they will definitely be without Guillaume Loriot, who is back with the physios after only briefly returning from a problem. Bruno Angoua will return after missing last weekend’s 3-0 win over Brest due to illness. After a powerful performance, Philippe Montanier will hope his men can transfer their form to the road, where they’ve really struggled in recent times.
Racing Club de Lens – Sochaux
Still in the bottom three of the Ligue 1 table, despite a recent improvement in their fortunes, Lens host a Sochaux side who have struggled to travel well all season, and les Sang et Or will certainly have targeted three points from this encounter.
There are only a handful of selection problems for the home side, who have seen Nenad Kovacevic and Raphaele Varane both shake off problems acquired in the scoreless draw against Paris Saint-Germain last weekend. Adil Hermach will be their main absentee, and after a stubborn defensive display at the Parc des Princes, more attacking endeavour is required on Saturday.
Francis Gillot’s men are really dangerous opponents at home, but they have failed to find that same spark when playing on their travels. Yassin Mikari is close to returning for les Lionceaux, while Boukary Drame is expected to turn out for the reserves. Charlie Davies has been offloaded to DC United on loan this week.
Lorient - Girondins de Bordeaux
The up and down form of Bordeaux continued last weekend, when they were defeated 2-1 by Caen at the Stade Chaban-Delmas, and on Saturday Jean Tigana’s men face a very difficult short trip north to meet Lorient.
Les Merlus will be able to welcome back Maxime Baca and Francis Coquelin to their panel, but it’s not all good news for the Breton club, who will be without Jeremy Morel following his red card against Monaco last weekend. With 23 points in 11 matches, few teams have a home record to match Christian Gourcuff’s men.
Bordeaux have been left shaken a little by the Caen loss, which was somewhat unfortunate. During that encounter, Yoan Gouffran suffered a broken ankle and after undergoing surgery on the joint, it is expected that his season is over. Carlos Henrique is les Marine et Blanc’s only other injury concern.
Montpellier – Lille
Ligue 1 leaders Lille have made it their expressed desire that they battle hard for the domestic title, and to that end they will have their eyes firmly focussed on Sunday’s encounter against Montpellier as opposed the forthcoming midweek fixture against PSV.
The home side will be without a fair clutch of players due to suspension. Hasan Kabze will sit out for four more matches following an altercation with a linesman during a reserve clash, while Olivier Giroud and Garry Bocaly both miss the fixture due to disciplinary reasons. Rene Girard has few serious injury worries.
Lille should be able to take a complete panel to the south of France, despite the disappointment of losing a two-goal lead against the Dutch club late on Thursday. On the other hand, Rudi Garcia rested as many as eight first team players, with Adil Rami expected to step back in after missing the Europa League clash due to a slight injury concern.
Nice – Paris Saint-Germain
Following the winter break, it seemed that Paris Saint-Germain had carried their form through pretty impressively, but recent results are starting to suggest the capital side will fade, and a trip to Nice will certainly provide a test of character.
A chronic lack of goals have really hurt les Aiglons this season, with the loss of Loic Remy proving to be a massive blow to the Cote d’Azur outfit. For Sunday afternoon’s match they should be able to command almost a full panel of players to pick from, though Kafoumba Coulibaly is banned.
PSG will welcome back Claude Makelele into the fold after the veteran was one of only a few players given rest time in midweek. Sylvain Armand should overcome the injury he suffered against Lens to play, while Ludovic Giuly is banned. After three matches without a win, the wheels are starting to come off the capital side’s title charge.
Toulouse - Stade Rennais
Second placed Rennes face another big test of their title credentials on Sunday night, when they will go to Toulouse.
Le Tefece will be without their two first choice goalkeepers for this match as Yohann Pele is a long-term selection worry due to illness, while it’s already been confirmed that Mathieu Valverde will miss out after picking up a muscular problem in the 2-0 defeat against Lille last weekend. Xavier Pentecote is the only other major concern.
Rennes’ injury list is lengthy, but that’s not stopped them from picking up a couple of impressive results in recent times. PSG were beaten 1-0 at home a fortnight ago and then last weekend Nice were defeated 2-0. Yacine Brahimi has since picked up a fresh problem for les Rouge et Noir, who will be down to the bare bones once again.
