Ligue 1 - Match day 17 - Saturday fixtures

Marseille V Brest kicks off at 16:00

Marseille are coming off of two 1-0 wins which were essential after a period of patchy form. Their home victory over Troyes last week was followed by an away win at Nantes. Brazilian midfielder Gerson got the only goal of the game, spinning well to finish with his left foot. The Brazilian has been a bit disappointing since signing from Flamengo in the summer. The goal gave him confidence here and he had his best game for the Phoenicians, keeping the ball well and showing some nice touches.

Two minutes after the goal (32 minutes in to the game) Nantes had a player sent off and OM dominated the rest of the match. Mattéo Guendouzi was impressive in midfield, regularly breaking forward and nearly scoring twice. Marseille now have three clean sheets in three league games and seven for the season so far.

Jorge Sampaoli’s team will again be without winger Cengiz Ünder who has a back injury. Other than that they are in good shape and should go in to this game with confidence.

Brest are the in form team in the league at present with an impressive five game winning run. Considering they hadn’t won at all in the previous 11 games makes it an incredible turn around. Les Pirates won their latest match 1-0 at home to Saint Etienne. In a game of few chances Romain Faivre scored from the penalty spot after a handball incident in the area. That was the attacking midfielder‘s sixth goal of the season.

That’s as many goals as the 23 year old managed all of last season and he also has five assists. Manager Michel Der Zakarian is happy for his team to give up possession but break quickly on the counter attack. That philosophy looked disastrous early in the season but they are now on their best ever run of results in Ligue 1. The Bretons have no new injuries or suspensions to be worried about.

French Footy prediction: Marseille 2 V Brest 1

Lille V Troyes kicks off at 18:00 - Live on BT Sport 3

Lill’s form has been patch all season but they are coming off the back of their best league result of the season. On Wednesday night they travelled to Rennes and beat their fellow Bretons who had not lost for thirteen games. Les Lillois were 2-0 up at half time with goals from Xeka and Renato Sanches. The midfielders both scoring their first goals of the season. You wonder if that could be Sanches' last goal for the club. There are so many rumours of clubs looking to bid for him in January. Most notably Liverpool and Barcelona.

For once Lille didn’t have to rely on top scorer Jonathan David (12 goals this season) and managed to keep their lead. Rennes did pull one back late on but this time Les Dogues did not capitulate and held on for a valuable three points. Can they get back to back league wins for the second time this season? Jocelyn Gourvennec has no new injury concerns or suspensions so should be confident of a victory.

After losing three games on the trot Troyes got a vital victory on Wednesday night over fellow strugglers Lorient. It helped that they scored early with Renaud Ripart scoring his first goal for the club after his summer move from Nimes. The Nimois (pictured) saw an early header clip the post before half volleying in a lovely ball from Tristan Dingomé.

Midfielder Rominigue Kouamé then got his first of the season on 34 minutes with a left foot strike from the edge of the area. Laurent Battles' team were able to see through the victory. That win saw LESTAC leapfrog Lorient in the table so they now sit one place above the Bretons in 15th. Troyes will be without veteran defender Adil Rami who has a hamstring injury. That is a big blow for Battles' team as they have been tighter at the back since he came in. The 35 year old could be out for a few weeks.

French Footy prediction: Lille 1 V Troyes 0

Lens V PSG kicks off at 20:00 - Live on BT Sport 3

Les Lensois are without a win in four games which is their worst run of the season so far. Franck Haise will have been disappointed to see his side take the lead twice at Clermont only to be pegged back both times. Unusually for the attacking Bretons they only had two shots on goal. Seko Fofana forced the first goal by smashing in a cross shot that went in off a Clermont player. Fofana then scored Lens' second. The Paris born Ivory Coast international has been a driving force in midfield for Les Sangs est Ors this season scoring four goals. His performances are attracting attention from clubs like Newcastle, Marseille and AC Milan. Lens would be mad to let him go in January though as they have a great chance of qualifying for Europe.

Lens really need to be at their best here to get something from runaway leaders PSG. Considering their opponents they'd be happy to get a third draw in a row. Lens will still be without striker Wesley Said who is still struggling with a muscle injury whilst defender Deiver Machado is out with a Meniscus problem.

PSG dropped league points for just the third time this season after a 0-0 home draw with Nice. They were missing Neymar Jr and Gigi Wijnaldum through injury but still had a very strong first eleven including Messi and Mbappe playing. The Parisians dominated possession (71%) but could not finish. Mbappe was particularly wasteful putting a very good chance wide in the second half. Mauricio Pochettino's team rode their luck a little at the other end with Gianluigi Donnarumma having to make two decent saves and Nice hitting the post.

Wijnaldum is back in training so may feature in this game. Marco Verratti came off the bench against Nice after a sustained period of injury so he may start in this game. Neymar is likely to be out until early January. This could be a tough game for PSG but they'll be expected to win and extend their lead at the top of the league.

French Footy prediction: Lens 1 V PSG 2