Ligue 1 Preview Gameweek 10

The action from the French top flight of football resumes following an international break with a number of key games in both the battle for the European spots and the fight to stay in the league.

Monaco v Lyon
Date 16/10/2015 – Venue – Stade Louis II – Kick Off 19:30 (UK Time)

Hosts Monaco have already fallen ten points behind leaders PSG after just nine games and will look to close the gap on Friday evening as they take on Lyon. Monaco are 10^th in the league and know all three points would take them above Lyon and maybe sneak into the European places if results go there way. In addition to the injured Adama Traore and Helder Costa, they will be without Ricardo Carvalho and Andrea Raggi who are suspended.

The visitors will be confident after ending in-form Reims’ unbeaten run in the previous match and in 6^th place they will be looking to head towards the top of the table with a win at the Stade Louis II. Lyon’s huge list absentees grew in the last couple of weeks with Aldo Kalulu getting an ankle injury that could keep him out for up to two months and Anthony Lopes suffering from gastroenteritis. Goalkeeper Lopes has played in every game for Les Gones so far this season and he will be a big miss for Lyon.

Bastia v Paris Saint-Germain
Date 17/10/2015 – Venue – Stade Armand Cesari – Kick Off 16:00 (UK Time)

Despite being on the end of a large amount of pressure from Marseille in the last game, PSG earned all three points to extend their lead at the top of the league to five points. Zlatan Ibrahimovic became the club’s all-time top goal scorer in that match and with the goals also flowing for Sweden over the international break; he will fancy his chances to continue his form. David Luiz and Kevin Trapp have picked up slight injuries and are a doubt for this game and Blaise Matuidi is suspended; a player that PSG may struggle without.

Five defeats in six games have left Bastia in 13^th place in the league standings and they will have to be at their best to get anything from an unbeaten PSG. Florian Marange is sidelined with a suspension for Bastia and they may find it difficult in attack without Julian Palmieri and Francois Kamano who are still recovering from injuries.

Guingamp v Lille
Date 17/10/2015 – Venue – Stade du Roudourou – Kick Off 19:00 (UK Time)

Both Guingamp and Lille are going into this game on the back of much needed victories to give them some breathing space from the relegation zone, with them in 11^th and 12^th respectively. The hosts know a win will take them six points above Lille and it could also lift them into the European places; an early confidence-booster as the season progresses. Some unfortunate injuries for Guingamp include Mana Dembele, Nicolas Benezet and Christophe Kerbrat, while Lionel Mathis and Younousse Sankhare are suspended for this match.

Lille’s win against Montpellier in the last game was only their second win of the season but it may have been just what they needed to kick-start their campaign. Three points from this match would only place them one or two places higher in the league table but they would be much closer to the European spots to achieve their season objective. The latest team news for Lille is that Eric Bautheac will be out with a suspension.

Nantes v Troyes
Date 17/10/2015 – Venue – Stade de la Beaujoire – Kick Off 19:00 (UK Time)

Nantes head into this game in 15^th place and will only be focusing on one outcome; they must win the match to create a nine-point gap between them and relegation-threatened Troyes. The league position of Les Canaris isn’t truly reflective as they have a game in hand on the teams around them after the game against Nice was abandoned due to heavy rain last time around. Wins from these two games would put them in a great league position. Nantes will be without the suspended Ermir Lenjani while Alejandro Bedoya could also miss the game with an illness.

Troyes’ winless start to life back in Ligue 1 puts them in 19^th and another loss at the Stade de la Beaujoire could see them drift further away from safety. They may avoid dropping to the bottom of the table for another week with Gazélec facing a tough game, but if they fail to show any signs of improvement they will find it hard to recover. Chris Mavinga and Matthieu Saunier are sidelined with injuries and Thomas Ayasse is ruled out with a suspension.

Reims v Caen
Date 17/10/2015 – Venue – Stade Auguste Delaune – Kick Off 19:00 (UK Time)

Reims host Caen in one of the better games of the weekend as they are both in great form. In spite of the loss to Lyon in the last game which saw them fall to 7^th in the table, Reims can take confidence from their five-match unbeaten streak before it and will use the home crowd to try and bounce back on Saturday evening. They aren’t struggling too much with injuries but Jaba Kankava and Hamari Traore will both miss the game through suspension.

Back-to-back wins for Caen against Saint-Étienne and Gazélec Ajaccio has seen them climb to 3^rd in the table, just five points behind PSG at the top. It will be a tough test at the Stade Auguste Delaune but they have won six out of nine games against tough opposition so it wouldn’t be surprising if Caen came out on top in this match. The only concern for Patrice Garande is Jonathan Delaplace who is still injured but he has the option to name an unchanged side from the last outing.