It’s a quick turnaround here in Ligue 1, and even the TV commentary team last night got confused what round they were talking about as Marseille beat Rennes 1-0 to finish up round 16. After the goal-fest last weekend (35), the midweek action saw the lowest scoring round so far this season, with only 13 scored, and a massive zero goals in three games on Tuesday.
Those games were not without their interest or importance, however, as Angers held off PSG in a determined display that proves they might just have it in them to keep this run up, while Nice and Lyon were also held at bay, which with Monaco and Caen drawing 1-1 on Wednesday, helps to keep second to seventh interesting, at least.
OGC Nice v PSG – Friday 19:30 GMT
Nice put out a slightly weird team midweek, particularly given their 2-0 loss to Toulouse at the weekend, with neither Valere Germain nor Hatem Ben Arfa starting, and four of their back five got booked, so maybe a point away against a feisty Lorient side was a decent result. They’ll have Ben Arfa back for this, and goalkeeper Mouez Hassen has served his suspension, although Yoan Cardinale holds on to his starting place, so apart from rightback Ricardo Pereira being out with ankle-knack, they should be more recognisable against the reigning / autumn champions.
PSG were stymied on Tuesday by an organised and deliberate defence, and it’s fair to say that Nice probably won’t manage that. Verratti, Pastore and Van Der Wiel are still out, and Jean-Kevin Augustin doesn’t even make the squad (choix d’entraineur), but it will be baffling if this is also a goalless draw – both teams to score would seem a good bet. Nice might be hoping that PSG have an eye on the Champions League game on Tuesday but as they are already through and Real Madrid have the head-to-head advantage even if they screw up against Malmo, that seems unlikely to play much of a part.
Olympique Lyonnais v SCO Angers – Saturday 16:00 GMT
Neither team scored midweek but third-placed Angers will be happier about that than fourth-placed Lyon, who were playing away at Nantes. In a frustrating encounter, Lyon had 60% possession but couldn’t make it count, and Nantes had a goal ruled out for offside. Also OL’s injury list got longer with Rafael limping off early doors…
Lopes should be good to go to face Angers. Rafael doubtful, Valbuena could be ready. #OLSCO
— OL News / English (@OLNews_eng) December 3, 2015
Angers’ keeper Ludovic Butelle was the archetypal immovable object against PSG, and with only a point separating these teams, this could be a low-scoring affair. Lyon fans will be hoping that this being the last Ligue 1 match at the Gerland will engender some form of recovery from a team that has one point from their last three games and will be playing for pride alone against Valencia on Wednesday.
Olympique de Marseille v Montpellier HSC – Sunday 13:00 GMT
The form teams in Ligue 1 are PSG (natch) and Gazelec, on 13 points from the last five games, but behind them are OM and MHSC on ten. Marseille’s 1-0 win away at Rennes on Thursday was entertaining stuff, if not at the chaotic level of their 3-3 draw against Monaco on Sunday, and featured some great work from Steve Mandanda, who appears to have concluded that if Rekik’s playing in defence, he might as well play as an auxiliary defender. It also saw Remy Cabella’s first goal for his new club since joining from Newcastle in the summer.
He’ll be up against his previous employers, who had a collective bad day at the office against Gazelec, losing 2-0, but who have shown an impressive degree of determination to recover from an appalling start to the season. Key to this is that the attack are finally clicking, with on-loan wild-card Casimir Ninga proving more than useful, and with Morgan Sanson now properly back from his ACL injury, this will be an interesting one. With OM needing a point away at Slovan Liberec on Thursday to continue their Europa League campaign, and Michy Batshuayi surely needing a rest at some point, OM’s team selection will be key.
Predictions
