Stade Brestois – Nancy
Brest have failed to win in Ligue 1 since November, but they will be hopeful of picking up three points against a Nancy unit rather short of form at present.
Nolan Roux is hopeful of making his return to action for Alex Dupont’s home side, who will instead post Romain Poyet as their major injury absentee. Having lost their undefeated recorded at the Stade Francis Le Ble against 10-man Caen on their last outing at the venue, they’ll be aiming to quickly restore the home fans’ faith.
On the opposite side of the park, Nancy will quest for three points after a very disappointing series of results, which have seen them lose all three of their Ligue 1 matches in 2011. Pablo Correa’s side hit a nadir on Wednesday evening, when they were eliminated from the Coupe de France by second flight side Le Mans.
Caen – Lorient
After defeating Auxerre 2-0 last weekend, Caen will want to maintain their momentum when they host a Lorient unit who are certainly not renowned for their ability to travel successfully.
Goals from Benjamin Nivet and Kandia Traore guided les Malherbes to a vital victory at the Stade Abbe-Deschamps, and now that Franck Dumas’ side are outside of the relegation zone, they won’t want to slip back in. No new injury problems have been registered.
In midweek, les Merlus progressed into the last eight of the Coupe de France with a resounding 3-0 victory over Metz, but they’ve avoided defeat on only three road trips this season so shouldn’t go to Normandy overly confident. Alaixys Romao hopes to return to action after missing out on Tuesday.
Racing Club de Lens – Valenciennes
Under the charge of Laszlo Boloni, Lens have stirred and are now showing signs of avoiding a quick return to Ligue 2. On Saturday night, they host Valenciennes in an important foot-of-the-table relegation derby.
Last weekend, les Sang et Or gave a strong account of themselves when they went down narrowly against Ligue 1 leaders Lille. On that occasion they were largely focussed on defending, but they’ll doubtless be a little more aggressive come Saturday. Virtually a complete squad is available, though there are doubts over Eduardo, Eric Chelle and Adil Hermach.
VA continue to be hit with a significant number of selection problems, but they’ll have been hugely boosted by last Saturday’s 2-1 home victory over Lyon. Those three points have pushed the Nord club three points away from the drop zone, and a win against their near neighbours would be another huge boost for Philippe Montanier’s men.
Olympique de Marseille – Arles-Avignon
Last weekend, Marseille dropped a disconcerting eight points off the pace of Ligue 1 leaders Lille, and anything short of three points at home against an Arles side virtually consigned to relegation would be considered a massive blow for les Phoceens.
Didier Deschamps’ club have won only once in the league since the end of November and have really struggled to show the kind of form expected of title winners. Mathieu Valbuena and Cesar Azpilicueta remain absent, but Brandao should be ready to feature on Saturday night following a suspension and then an injury scare on Thursday.
With only eight points on the board after 21 games, the challenge of staying in France’s top flight will prove too much for ACAA, who are now 15 marks shy of safety. Faruk Hadzibegic’s side have failed to significantly strengthen over the winter transfer period and appear consigned to their fate. They have, nevertheless, never rolled over and will provide obstinate opponents unless an early goal is scored against them.
Montpellier – Saint-Etienne
Fresh from a morale boosting 2-1 victory over Nancy last weekend, Montpellier host a Saint-Etienne outfit who are also on the outside perimeter of the European zone.
Rene Girard’s side managed to welcome back Romain Pitau for their encounter in Lorraine last weekend, but they are still significantly weakened by physical problems, most notably to Turkish attacker Hasan Kabze. When Sainte come calling, John Utaka could be handed his debut for the hosts, having recently signed from Portsmouth.
Les Verts could boast Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang or Alejandro Alonso in their starting XI, both recently captured from Monaco. Additionally, Dimitri Payet will be involved in Christophe Galtier’s panel, despite briefly going AWOL after his proposed transfer to PSG broke down. Albin Ebondo is Sainte’s main injury worry as they attempt to leapfrog Saturday’s opponents.
Nice – Sochaux
Coupe de France quarter-finalists Nice will attempt to keep the relegation wolf from the door when they host a dangerous Sochaux side at the Stade du Ray on Saturday.
Eric Roy’s men edged out Drancy thanks to a goal from Anthony Mounier, but they’ll need to be on the ball to a greater extent to get the better of les Lionceaux. Injury problems continue to threaten the squad, with Eric Mouloungui and Didier Digard amongst those players troubled by physical complaints.
Sochaux are a team no stranger to injuries themselves. Francis Gillot has a clutch of players who will miss out at the weekend, though he hopes that Ryad Boudebouz is fit enough to play. The midfielder was absent for the embarrassing Coupe de France defeat against CFA2 side Chambery. As that 2-1 reverse suggested, the Doubs side don’t travel well, so even modest Nice are tough opponents.
Auxerre – Lille
Slowly being sucked towards the relegation zone, Auxerre need to pick up points desperately, but a home fixture against league leaders Lille would not appear to be the easiest solution to their problems.
Jean Fernandez’s side have been beset by injury problems of late, and they’ll be hopeful that Benoit Pedretti and Roy Contout can return from issues to ease their worries somewhat. There was certainly a lack of quality on offer as they went down 2-0 against Auxerre last weekend. Simon Pontdeme was signed after the transfer deadline as a ‘joker’ following a serious injury to Remi Riou.
While the home side are riddled with problems, the guests are expected to have a complete panel to select from. Though they went the distance in the Coupe de France against Nantes on Wednesday, it was a heavily rotated squad fielded by coach Rudi Garcia. LOSC will be aiming to at least maintain their four point lead in Le Championnat, having been made favourites for the first time this week.
Toulouse – Monaco
Toulouse continue to enjoy a lofty position in Ligue 1, though the congested nature of the league means that any run of negative results would see them quickly sucked down the standings. Equally, relegation threatened Monaco could quickly spring into the middle of the table.
Le Tefece were relatively inactive over the winter transfer period and are clearly content with their roster as it stands. There is a lack of firepower in Alain Casanova’s panel, and this was aptly displayed as the Pink City club went down 2-1 in Saint-Etienne last weekend, despite putting up a good performance.
Monaco have suffered from a similar problem this season, but after adding several players to their panel over the last weeks will hope to have remedied their issues. Though Moussa Maazou has already been ruled out for the rest of the season following a training ground injury on Monday, Georgie Welcome and Pascal Feindouno could both debut. Additionally, Mahamadou Diarra will again look to stand tall in the centre of the field.
