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Ligue 1 Preview: Round 12

Le Championnat will somewhat bizarrely play their 12th official round of games before they play their 11th. Matchday 11 has been switched to a December date in order to fatigue les Bleus less before their World Cup play-off fixtures against Ireland. Nevertheless, there should be plenty of excitement this weekend…

Oct 30, 2009 12:18:50 PM

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Ligue 1 : Mamadou Niang (Marseille)

Teams

Saturday, October 31, 2009 (all kick-offs CET)

19:00 Auxerre vs. Montpellier
19:00 Girondins de Bordeaux vs. Monaco (full preview)
19:00 Boulogne-Sur-Mer vs. Nancy
19:00 Grenoble vs. Lille
19:00 Racing Club de Lens vs. Lorient
19:00 Olympique de Marseille vs. Toulouse
21:00 Saint-Etienne vs. Olympique Lyonnais (full preview)

Sunday, November 1, 2009

17:00 Nice vs. Le Mans
17:00 Stade Rennais vs. Valenciennes
21:00 Sochaux vs. Paris Saint-Germain (preview available Saturday 14:00 CET)

Auxerre vs. Montpellier

AJA approach this fixture in good form, having accounted for Rennes, Bordeaux and Lille in their past three league matches. Their early season goal scoring problems are well and truly behind them, with strikers Ireneusz Jelen and Daniel Niculae both finding the net in their 3-2 success over LOSC last weekend.

However, that does not mean that they have a full strength side to call upon. Alexandre Licata has yet to feature for the club since a summer move from Monaco and Julien Quercia is also still missing for the Burgundy club. Full-back Cedric Hengbart is banned.

Montpellier, meanwhile, sweat on important playmaker Alberto Costa, who has proven to be the main pivot in their side this season. MHSC have lost only twice, but both of those games have come on the road and they struggled to make an impression against Rennes as they were dispatched 3-0 last weekend.

Girondins de Bordeaux vs. Monaco

For a full preview click here…

Boulogne-Sur-Mer vs. Nancy

If Laurent Guyot, head coach of newly promoted Boulogne, thought that his injury problems could not mount any further last weekend, he was wrong. Although the northerners put up a stubborn fight against Monaco, they would eventually slip to a 3-1 defeat at home. Worse news was to follow as Jeremy Blayac will miss five weeks of action.

In addition, Daniel Moreira and Gregory Thil, the club’s other two primary strikers, are already ruled out due to knocks. Kevin Das Neves is banned, while young goalkeeper Ibrahim Kone was disciplined for showing late for training earlier this week and may lose his first team berth.

Nancy’s injury concerns are easing. Michael Chretien remains sidelined with an Achilles tendon worry and Florian Marange is also out. Goalkeeper Gennaro Bracigliano is hopeful of making a return to first team action. ASNL only edged past pointless Grenoble thanks to a late Youssouf Hadji penalty last weekend.

Grenoble vs. Lille

Grenoble have scored an imperfect ten in Ligue 1 thus far, failing to pick up any points to this stage. And Mehmet Bazdarevic’s men are closing in on a host of unwanted records too, namely the most consecutive losses ever suffered in a single season.

As their problems mount on the park, the queue to the treatment table continues to remain unmoving. Sofiane Feghouli isn’t expected to play again this year, while captain Laurent Batlles is anticipating a month on the sidelines due to a concern acquired in the last week.

Lille are not a side without their worries. Though their form on the continent is excellent, they have struggled to reproduce such excellence in the domestic sphere. As a result, they are on the fringes of the drop zone. They squandered a 2-1 lead against Auxerre to lose 3-2 last weekend and will want for better at the Stade des Alpes. Tulio de Melo and Nicolas Plestan are injury concerns.

Racing Club de Lens vs. Lorient

There have been mooted suggestions in recent days that Jean-Guy Wallemme of Lens could lose his job as head coach. Les Sang et Or have struggled to piece together any kind of offensive success in recent weeks, scoring only twice in the league since the end of August.

Lens are in a fortunate position in terms of injuries, though Eric Chelle is nursing a broken nose. Samba Sow has been laid low with a virus, which has not been confirmed to be swine flu.

If the hosts are underachieving, Christian Gourcuff’s Lorient are certainly punching above their weight, despite a disappointing 1-0 reverse in Sochaux last weekend. Les Merlus will make the trip across the north of France missing only Jeremy Morel, who is expected to be sidelined until well after Christmas.

Olympique de Marseille vs. Toulouse

Incredibly this clash between the side who finished second last season and that who finished fourth is not considered for top billing even among the early kick-offs.

Marseille will be trying to regain their momentum after a frustrating weekend twiddling their thumbs due to the late postponement of the Clasico against PSG. Julien Rodriguez will miss three months because of a knee problem and Cyril Rool is still absent because of ankle damage. Benoit Cheyrou has a slight problem and might not be risked.

After a poor start to the season, Toulouse finally have some positive results to call upon in the last few weeks. Victories over PSG and Lens will have bolstered their confidence. Head coach Alain Casanova will again look to Andre-Pierre Gignac and Moussa Sissoko for the goals to fire them to a shock success. There has been no significant movement in the club’s treatment room over the last week.

Saint-Etienne vs. Olympique Lyonnais

For a full preview click here…

Nice vs. Le Mans

Roundly tipped as whipping boys last weekend, Nice confounded Ligue 1 by producing a sparkling performance to destroy Lyon 4-1. Didier Olle-Nicolle’s side counterattacked perfectly in that game, but it is unlikely they will have such a luxury afforded to them at the weekend, when they face a Le Mans side scrapping for everything they can get.

On the injury front, the news is largely positive for les Aiglons. Mahamane Traore and Eric Mouloungui will return to the fold, leaving centre-back Cid as their only injury absentee. Emerse Fae is still banned.

MUC will boast a strong squad as they travel south, though there are still certain issues troubling coach Paulo Duarte, such as centre-back Gregory Cerdan, who has a calf concern that may yet keep him out. Le Mans boast only one point from a possible nine.

Stade Rennais vs. Valenciennes

A commanding performance for Rennes against Montpellier last weekend has reignited hopes in Brittany that les Rouge et Noir can once again challenge for European football. The Stade de la Route de Lorient side have not been as consistently dangerous as they might have liked, but head coach Frederic Antonetti has been keen to point out that only Bordeaux have a better goal difference this season.

The defence will be at full strength but there are other issues, most notably injuries to Moussa Sow and Jerome Leroy, who will miss one month and two months respectively. Jimmy Briand has tentatively started training with the first team again.

Valenciennes are a side who have defied chronic injury problems to record three wins from their last four league matches on the road. Philippe Montanier’s outfit will have to keep performing such miracles at the weekend as there is still a lengthy list of concerns for VA. David Ducourtioux is banned. Ninth in the league, the Stade Nungesser club have been scoring goals for fun of late but come up against Ligue 1’s sturdiest rearguard.

Sochaux vs. Paris Saint-Germain

Full preview available Saturday at 14:00 CET

Robin Bairner, Goal.com

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