Previews

Bordeaux v Valenciennes

Bordeaux have seemed less impressive lately especially after losing 3 times in away matches. However at home they stay impressive with 13 consecutive victories. This season, they have won their 6 games with 14 goals scored and only 1 conceded, these are quite exceptional stats. Of the whole squad, only Gourcuff could be doubtful as he has played two intense games against Ireland this week. Gourcuff was like an absolute ghost during these international games and his performances lately have been really disappointing, the problem is we know that this team is usually quite dependant of him. Diarra, also an international, played next to Gourcuff against Ireland and he too will not be fresh tonight. Without these two players, the midfield is made really fragile and this will count especially against Valenciennes good away form.

Valenciennes have been surprising this season. We expected them to be at the bottom of the league but so far they have realized an excellent season with a superb 7th place. Far from having the same characteristics as Bordeaux, Valenciennes are terrific away with 4 victories on 6 games. Valenciennes are simply the best team away and even the best attack in the championship.

I think Valenciennes could create problems for a Bordeaux weaker because of Diarra and Gourcuff’s form. Bordeaux are clearly favourites, of course, but a surprise is possible and I prefer avoiding it.

Grenoble v Lyon

Finally Grenoble have a point! Of course their situation is quite desperate, they are 20th with only 1pt in 12 games, the worst attack with only 5 goals scored and the worst defence with 23 goals conceded. Clearly Grenoble are not up to Ligue 1 level and if Monaco hadn’t freaked out against them, they would still have no points. Grenoble are very weak, with a really awful squad and even though their coach is quite good, he can’t seem to motivate his players. Grenoble has already given in to being in Ligue 2 next season, as their captain said on TV, “We have to prepare for the next season“!. This is the mind set of Grenoble before hosting the 7 times champions Lyon.

Lyon this season are strong, really strong!! Their last game against Marseille is the game with the most goals since 1984, 5-5!! Lyon screwed up in defence, making a lot of mistakes, especially from Lloris, who was surely exhausted and too young. He has proved from his games for the French team that he’s an excellent goalkeeper and so this game was an accident. Lyon has an excellent squad and should dominate Grenoble; except from suffering a defeat at Nice after their victory at Liverpool, Lyon stay an excellent team away with 3 victories, 2 draws in 6 games. They have excellent players in attack and the return of Bastos should really improve their play.

With a H2H totally in favour of Lyon with 3 victories in 3 games and no goals scored for Grenobe! They should win easily tonight against the weakest team of Ligue 1.

Rennes v Le Mans

Rennes after having a great start to the season conceded 2 consecutive defeats, especially the one at home against Valenciennes 0-3 which was very hard to bear. With European ambitions, Rennes are only 13th at the moment and desperately need to react tonight against Le Mans.

Rennes are very strong at home but have only managed 3 victories in 6 games. However they have met some strong teams: Marseille (1-1) , St-etienne in their best period (1-0), Auxerre (0-1), Montpellier when they were co-leaders (3-0). Finally only their first game against Boulogne was simple, they have met confidant and strong teams and so these stats show some limits but are not the results of a weak team. Moreover Rennes have always succeeded in reacting to a series of bad results. After their defeat against Auxerre, Rennes defeated Montpellier by a large score at a time when Montpellier were at their best. Le Mans are far from having the same characteristics and shouldn’t be able to resist.

Le Mans at19th are already one of the favourites for relegation, a weak squad after some important departures, Le Mans haven’t left the bottom of the table since the departure of the Coach Rudy Garcia. The new coach, Paulo Duarto, with all his eccentricities, looks more like a showman than a coach. Le Mans is really weak in attack and have scored only once in 6 games away. They haven’t scored since the first day in Paris

Tonight, Rennes should dominate and win the game

Lens v Nancy

A hard game between two teams who both need points. Lens had a good reaction at Sochaux, winning their 3rd game this season. Full of problems, this northern club, lost a lot of points before finding their stability, Coach Jean Guy Wallemme didn’t have permission to recruit and so the team has had to count on their collective spirit and not on individuals.

I expect them to have a good series of victories which could continue tonight against Nancy. Nancy is luckier than Lens but not really any more talented. They are 10th thanks to their victories against Boulogne and Grenoble, but they really didn’t play well. They were about to give away their first 3pts to Grenoble if Grenoble hadn’t destroyed their chances themselves! Nancy are really weak this season and are not far from relegation too, their last defeat against St-Etienne at home shows all their limits.

It is hard to say who will win tonight, I think Lens is favourite thanks to better form and also Nancy have really disappointed me lately. I would advise you to take a little insurance by the Draw no Bet.

Auxerre v Monaco

Auxerre are surprisingly 3rd with 6 consecutive victories, no one expected this scenario. They are the team of the moment and at home they have scored 10 goals in the last 5 matches. Managed for many years by an excellent coach, Auxerre uses a certain stability to build a balanced team. After a hard start due to some important injuries, the situation is much better now, the attack is really performing and the midfield is efficient. The only problem that stays with them is some difficulty in defence, but their ability to react and control the ball is for now a good compensation.

Monaco is the crazy horse of ligue1, as usual I would say! Just behind Auxerre, they alternate between being either excellent or bad or even ridiculous. Their last game against Grenoble was really awful! They have a good squad but their recurrent problem is the city’s natural position, it’s hard to keep players focused on football while you are in such attractive a city. The smart idea of the manager was to hire a strong personality coach (Guy Lacombe) and it is working well because Monaco have had a lot better results than last seasons, but they are still unstable.

At Auxerre, Monaco should be dominated and really shaken, but anything is possible with Monaco so I will just skip this bet.