Ligue 1 Preview Gameweek 6

Mark Sheppard previews this week’s Lique 1 football action, where there are a number of tasty ties. Sides  from both the top and bottom of the table go head to head whilst teams in contention for the European spots are also in action.

Rennes v Lille
Date 18/09/2015 – Venue – Roazhon Park – Kick Off 19:30 (UK Time)

Rennes and Lille kick off the weekend’s action when they meet at Roazhon Park on Friday evening. Both sides enter the match in decent form; neither team has lost a league game since the opening weekend. The hosts enter this match as the league’s in-form team as their four successive wins has seen them rise to 2^nd in the table. Benoit Costil is reportedly still out with an injury but other than this Rennes have no new concerns over the team that won at Nantes last week.

Visitors Lille are also unbeaten in four but having only won one of them, they sit 13^th going into the sixth round of fixtures. An impressive draw against Lyon in the previous game will give them the confidence to get something out of this match and Les Dogues are unbeaten on the road this season. The only notable team news for Lille is Florent Balmont who is out with a hamstring strain that the midfielder suffered in the last game. He has started all five of Lille’s matches this season and could be a big miss.

Reims v Paris Saint-Germain
Date 19/09/2015 – Venue – Stade Auguste Delaune – Kick Off 16:30 (UK Time)

One of the ties of the weekend is this clash between Reims and PSG, who are in 3^rd and 1^st respectively. Both sides will be looking to bounce back after disappointing results in the last game; Reims being held to a draw by Toulouse and PSG only managing a draw against Bordeaux. There are no injuries or suspensions in Reims’ starting eleven from last week but David N’Gog has recently been ruled out with a thigh problem.

PSG will be frustrated after losing their 100% record last weekend and they face another tough match at the Stade Auguste Delaune on Saturday afternoon. Angel Di Maria scored his first goal for Les Parisians in the Champions League against Malmö on Tuesday so he will be hopeful of another strong league performance. Laurent Blanc has a fully fit squad to choose from going into this big game.

Angers v Troyes
Date 19/09/2015 – Venue – Stade Jean Bouin – Kick Off 19:00 (UK Time)

Another one of the more interesting ties of the weekend is when Angers host Troyes; a match which would’ve been considered a relegation battle if it wasn’t for Angers’ excellent start to the season. The hosts lost their first league game last week at Lorient and have dropped down to 7^th, whereas Troyes are struggling in the bottom three and are still looking for their first Ligue 1 win of the season. Angers are still without Giles Sunu with an adductor strain, while Cheikh N’Doye was missing from the squad in the previous game.

Troyes are becoming desperate for a win and will need one sooner rather than later to avoid remaining in the bottom three while the gap to safety enlarges. They have been hit with the injury bug however; as Mory Kone is still out with a knee injury, Thomas Ayasse has a muscular problem, Stephane Darbion has an adductor strain, Jimmy Cabot has an illness and Chris Mavinga is facing a late fitness test. Not many of these injuries affect the team that starting in the last game against Caen but it Jean-Marc Furlan less options in his selection.

Bastia v Nice
Date 19/09/2015 – Venue – Stade Armand Cesari – Kick Off 19:00 (UK Time)

Bastia and Nice both go into this game on the back of defeats and the hosts will look for a win to get back in touch with the leaders, while Nice are in need of the three points to evade the relegation places. Bastia’s thrashing at the Stade Vélodrome will give them the boost to bounce back, and with Francois Kamano and Alexander Djiku returning they will fancy their chances to get something out of the game.

In 15^th place, Nice are certainly void of confidence and will need to take advantage of a struggling Bastia side that have lost their last two games. The visitors have no injury concerns or suspensions but Claude Puel may make some changes following the disappointing home defeat to Guingamp.

Caen v Montpellier
Date 19/09/2015 – Venue – Stade Michel d’Ornano – Kick Off 19:00 (UK Time)

Caen host Montpellier in what seems to be a very one-sided game. Montpellier are stuck in 19^th place and are unable to score goals, whereas Caen are flying in 5^th and have bounced back well with a win in their last game after suffering a heavy home defeat to Lyon. Damien Da Silva could come back into the Caen side following his suspension but they will be without Jonathan Delaplace who was forced to leave the field after just six minutes against Troyes with a hamstring problem.

Montpellier are showing signs of real trouble, putting in numerous lacklustre performances and losing four out of five of their league games. They have given four points to newly promoted sides and show no sign of revival, despite scoring their first goal of the season in the last game against Saint-Étienne. They still have Jonas Martin and Souleymane Camara out with injuries but the team is in real need of a shake-up or they could be in an irrecoverable position come the end of the season.