Tuesday, December 15, 2009
7:48 AM | 
Posted by
Blackyute |
A month and a half after these games were originally scheduled, they will finally take place. Montpellier’s match against Bordeaux takes top billing, but there are a number of interesting ties, including Marseille’s trip to Lorient…
Dec 15, 2009 6:47:58 AM
Ligue 1 : Lille vs Saint-Etienne
21:00 Valenciennes vs. Auxerre
Wednesday, December 16
19:00 Le Mans vs. Grenoble
19:00 Lorient vs. Olympique de Marseille
19:00 Olympique Lyonnais vs. Boulogne-Sur-Mer
19:00 Monaco vs. Stade Rennais
19:00 Montpellier vs. Girondins de Bordeaux (preview)
19:00 Nancy vs. Nice
21:00 Paris Saint-Germain vs. Racing Club de Lens
Valenciennes vs. Auxerre
Tuesday night’s only match sees Valenciennes and Auxerre aiming to bounce back from mediocre weekend results. VA’s fine away form deserted them in Le Mans, while Auxerre battled to a 0-0 draw against Lorient. Both teams are enjoying strong seasons to date and are in the thick of the European race.
VA go into this game again missing Jonathan Lacourt and Nicolas Penneteau, who are long-term injury problems, while there are still doubts over centre-back Bobo Balde. Carlos Sanchez and Siaka Tiene both return from bans.
Auxerre’s availability summary is very similar last weekend's. Ireneusz Jelen failed to make a massive impact in attack, though he did have a couple of good efforts on goal, while goalkeeper Olivier Blondel was their key man, making a handful of fine saves to shut-out Lorient.
Le Mans vs. Grenoble
Arnaud Cormier took over MUC last week and has seemingly made an immediate impact in their fortunes. The Sarthe team possessed more growl to their game when they tackled Valenciennes on Saturday, eventually grabbing a winning goal in stoppage time through Anthony Le Tallec.
Remarkably, the home team had been reduced to ten men due to Modibo Maiga's dismissal, but they showed good determination to prevent their opponents bettering the 1-1 scoreline at the time of the red card. The victory was their first since the last weekend of September.
Wednesday’s night game against improving Grenoble is a huge match-up in terms of the relegation battle. GF38 slipped against Sochaux on Sunday, with Danijel Ljuboja missing a penalty, so they desperately need the points. They have registered no new injury problems.
Lorient vs. Olympique de Marseille
Boasting an unbeaten record at home in Ligue 1 thus far, Lorient will again want to prove their worth as obstinate opponents when they host Marseille. Coach Christian Gourcuff was pleased with the domination his side achieved against Auxerre on Saturday night, but he will not have been impressed with their lack of penetration, which cost them three points.
Visiting boss Didier Deschamps was too ecstatic after his side’s 2-0 success against Boulogne, describing it as the “bare minimum”, but he did acknowledge that a full three points was the key outcome from that game.
Marseille are right in the thick of the title race and will want to keep pace with leaders Bordeaux by claiming victory in Lorient. They travel to Brittany without the injured Mamadou Niang, while Hilton is ill and unlikely to make the trip. Brandao is banned, so a change in the attack is necessary.
Olympique Lyonnais vs. Boulogne-Sur-Mer
Booed off after their 1-0 defeat by Bordeaux, Lyon currently reside in ninth spot in Ligue 1. This is entirely unfamiliar ground for a team more accustomed to winning trophies than playing the season out in mid-table, and their demanding fans are starting to turn on the team.
OL never looked like scoring against les Girondins at the weekend and will have to find some creativity to break down a Boulogne side who must be expected to camp ten men behind the ball for much of the match. Sidney Govou and Jeremy Toulalan still remain the headline injury problems, while Cris is banned.
Boulogne lost 2-0 to Marseille on Saturday at Stade Velodrome but rarely looked like getting totally pummelled. There are still a clutch of players missing from the line-up, most notably in attack, where Gregory Thil and Daniel Moreira continue to battle problems. Mame N’Diaye is available again but a weekend red card rules Olubayo Adefemi out.
Monaco vs. Stade Rennais
Sunday’s heavy home defeat against Lille did not sit well with Monegasques coach Guy Lacombe, who is something of a mercurial character. The moustachioed coach was clearly irritated by the lacklustre performance of his side and will only have been further troubled to have received another injury problem in the form of Vincent Muratori.
Several players are already ruled out of this tie due to injury for les Monegasques, including Djimi Traore, Juan Pablo Pino and Eduardo Costa, while Diego Perez will not feature as he serves a one-match ban. Wholesale changes in the side should not be totally dismissed.
Rennes coach Frederic Antonetti, meanwhile, takes his side to the home of his predecessor off the back of a performance he described as “the worst of the season”. Still, things can’t be going too badly for les Rouge et Noir, as they picked up maximum points from the aforementioned trip to Nancy, somewhat fortuitously winning 2-1.
Montpellier vs. Girondins de Bordeaux (full preview)
Nancy vs. Nice
Defeat at the weekend was hard to swallow for Nancy coach Pablo Correa, who watched his side dominate Monaco only to fall to a 2-1 defeat. ASNL certainly had their chances in that game, but scored an own goal, missed a penalty and had Damien Macaluso sent-off as they contrived to implode to their fourth successive home loss.
Macaluso is, of course, suspended for the midweek fixture, while there are fresh doubts over Jonathan Brison, who has a thigh issue, and Youssouf Hadji, who is suffering from adductor problems.
Nice have suspension issues to worry about as they look to avoid their fourth successive loss. Onyekachi Apam is banned until January 10 after head butting Gabriel Heinze, while Larrys Mabiala is also out of the trip to Lorraine.
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Racing Club de Lens
PSG destroyed Saint-Etienne 4-0 at the Parc des Princes on Sunday afternoon. It was an impressive showing from Antoine Kombouare’s side, who are generally perceived to be under-performing at the present time.
There have been signs of real life from les Parisiens of late, with some impressive performances intermingled with some very flat displays. On Wednesday evening they will hope to continue their recent improvement with a success against Lens, though they approach the game shorn of Guillaume Hoarau and Gregory Coupet.
Lens could have a full squad at their disposal for the trip to the capital, with Kevin Monnet-Paquet expected to be amongst their ranks after missing the weekend’s victory over Nice due to illness.
Robin Bairner, Goal.com
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