Ligue 1 Matchday 22 - Sunday fixtures

The weekend has already seen important wins for Lyon, Brest and Marseille. How will the rest of the league react on Sunday?

Results so far:

Lyon 1 - Sainte Etienne 0

(Moussa Dembélé 15 PEN)

Brest 2 - Nice 0

(Tiago Djaló OG 3, Mounie 95 PEN)

Lens 0 - Marseille 2

(Payet 34 PEN, Bakambu 77)

Metz V Nice - Kicks off at 12:00 GMT - Live on BT Sport ESPN

What a huge win for Metz last week at Reims. Just their fourth victory of the season that catapulted them from 19th to 16th. The amount of players missing due to AFCON and injury is staggering. Twelve of the first team squad are unavailable for one reason or another and yet they found a way to get three vital points and narrow the gap between them and Reims to five points. Another win here could move them up another spot but this week’s opponents will provide a much sterner test. The winner at Reims came from 22 year old striker Ibrahima Niane who headed in to the far post for his third goal of the season.

A clean sheet was an incredible feat in itself given that their goalkeeper and influential defenders Fabian Centonze, Dylan Bronn and Boubakar Kouyate are injured or in Cameroon. They just have too many players out for me to think they can repeat those heroics and get another positive result against Nice.

Nice have struggled for consistency this season but are on a nice little run of three consecutive league wins following a draw against PSG. Their narrow defeat of Nantes last weekend came courtesy of a Kasper Dolberg penalty (6th goal of the season) and Khéphren Thuram’s composed finish. Just the midfielders second of the season.

Les Aiglons have no new injury concerns but have winger Justin Kluivert suspended and two players at the AFCON; midfielder Mario Lemina and wing back Youcef Atal. Given Metz’s problems Nice should be expecting to get a fourth win in a row here.

French Footy prediction: Metz 0 - Nice 2

Clermont Foot V Rennes - Kicks off at 14:00 GMT - Live on BT Sport ESPN

Clermont are another team in real trouble. Just one win in eleven games and only four all season. They are teetering above the bottom three by a point and struggling to score goals. They don’t score many goals anyway but with top scorer Mohamed Bayo (9 goals 2 assists) at the AFCON Les Lanciers haven’t scored in their last three games. Bayo is representing Guinea at the tournament in Cameroon.

As Guinea have qualified for the last 16 the striker won’t be back in France until Tuesday at the earliest. It could be longer if Guinea win their next match on Monday. Midfielders Jim Allevinah and Saif-Eddine Khaoui are also at the tournament. Clermont were beaten 2-0 at home to Strasbourg in their last match and only managed a single shot on target. With no reinforcements likely during this January transfer window Pascal Gastien has to find a way of getting more out of his squad.

Rennes recently lost three league games in a row to teams close to them in the table (Nice, Monaco and Lens) and got knocked out of the Coupe De France. That wobble was seemingly put to bed last weekend when they thumped Bordeaux at home 6-0. The Bretons just had too much for their opponents and blew them away with goals from Terrier, Bourigeaud, Laborde, Truffert and Guirassy (x2). When Rennes are on form they are great to watch. Bruno Genesio’s team currently sit fifth in the league but are well capable of putting a run together to push for second. Les Rennais have four players at the AFCON: goalkeeper Alfred Gomis, defenders Nayer Aguerd and Hamari Traore and striker Kamal-Deen Sulemana. Midfielder Flavien Tait is also out with a groin injury. As they showed last week though they have plenty of quality in their side without them. If Rennes play as well as they can they should win here too.

French Footy prediction: Clermont 0 - Rennes 2

Nantes V Lorient - Kicks off at 14:00 GMT

Nantes lost narrowly last weekend 2-1 at Nice. Les Canaris gave Les Nicois a game and created plenty of chances but couldn’t get the second equaliser. Their goal came from a fantastic free kick by defender Andrei Girotto. The Brazilian hit a low shot with force and it looked like it had been deflected past the keeper. Replays however showed the ball curling deftly past the defenders shins. Despite this loss Nantes are having a much better season than expected. They sit 10th in the table and are not in the relegation quagmire most people expected them to be in. Manager Antoine Kombouaré is getting results and performances from his team but is keeping his feet on the ground. When asked at a recent press conference if he was satisfied with the current season he replied "Today, what's happening here, it's encouraging. Satisfied? No, I'll only say that at the end of the season. For the moment, it's not bad. But I'm expecting more from my group."

Nantes have four first team players at the AFCON of which winger Moses Simon (2 goals 6 assists) and defender Jean Castelletto are a big miss. Midfielder Wylan Cyprien is also out with a hamstring injury. Les Canaris have to go for a win here against their Breton rivals who are in disarray.

Lorient just cannot win a game of football. It’s been fifteen games, including the Coupe De France defeat to Rennes, since Les Merlus had a victory. Their most recent game on Wednesday night was all over by half time with Lorient losing three goals to Lille after just thirty minutes. The Bretons pulled a consolation back in stoppage time through 19 year old attacking midfielder Isaac Lihadji. That was the youngster's first goal in Ligue 1 but the only positive of a dismal evening for Christophe Pélissier and his team. Lorient are now in the bottom three and a point behind 17th placed Clermont. According to newspaper Ouest France Lorient are looking to bring in one or more attacking players. Strasbourg striker Lebo Mothiba and Lyon forward Tino Kadewere are both said to be of interest. Defensive midfielder Bonke Innocent was signed last week as a free agent after leaving Malmo at the end of 2021. The Nigerian may feature in this game although it's hard to see what impact he'll have.

Lorient have just one player, Dango Outtara at the AFCON whilst fellow midfielder Samuel Loric, forward Stephane Diarra and left back Jeremy Morel are all injured. Centre back Julien Laporte is unavalaible for this game due to personal reasons.

French Footy prediction: Nantes 1 - Lorient 0

Angers V Troyes - Kicks off at 14:00 GMT

Angers drew 0-0 at home to Lorient last weekend. That’s the eighth time this season they’ve reached a stalemate in games. They are not easily beaten and continue to steadily pick up points. Financial issues looks like no players will be coming in during this transfer window. With four players away at the AFCON (Bahoken, Ounahi, Ebosse and the influential Boufal - 5 goals 3 assist), injuries (Thomas and Khaled) and a suspension (Doumbia), Manager Gerald Baticle has a limited squad to work with. They have also let a few players go on loan but Baticle has them well organised and I’d expect them to get another point here.

Troyes are having a tough season but got a big, big win on Wednesday night at Montpellier. Xavier Chavalerin scored a fantastic, left foot half volley from outside the box to win the game. The 30 year old midfielder is a good passer of the ball but has weighed in with important goals too. That was his fifth of the season.

That victory was new Coach Bruno Irles’ first after his opening game last weekend was a narrow defeat to Lyon. The win also took L’ESTAC up to 15th in the table with a three point cushion over the bottom three. It was an impressive victory against a dangerous side particularly as Troyes had a lot of players missing. Four influential players are still away at the AFCON; defenders Issa Kaboré and Rominigue Kouamé and forwards Yoann Touzghar and Mama Baldé. Veteran centre back Adil Rami has picked up a thigh injury whilst defender Phillippe Sandler and striker Renaud Ripart remain injured. Given the circumstances a point wouldn’t be a bad result for Troyes.

French Footy prediction: Angers 1 - Troyes 1

Bordeaux V Strasbourg - Kicks off at 14:00 GMT

Bordeaux are another team in real trouble. They’ve lost four games in a row culminating in a humiliating 6-0 thrashing at Rennes last weekend. Les Girondins are 19th with just three wins all season. They have some good players, particularly up front with Alberth Elis and Hwang Ui-Jo. Yet they haven’t scored for three games and even when they do it’s rarely more than the defence concedes. They are missing just two bit players due to the AFCON (Jean Onana and Gideon Mensah) but more importantly have Goalkeeper Benoit Costil is injured with a calf injury. Manager Vladimer Petković is under pressure and there are rumours that Thierry Henry could take over. That seems like madness. Why would a man with limited coaching experience, who failed to sort Monaco’s problems out a few years back, be the person to get Bordeaux out of a relegation scrap? Petkovic and his team desperately need a positive result here but it’s going to be difficult.

Strasbourg are one of the in form teams in the league. They have gone from a side in transition with a new Manager to a club pushing for Europe. Les Coureurs have lost just one league game in the last ten and are now 4th in the table. They have won their last three games whilst conceding just one goal. That they’ve done it without centre back Alexander Djiku and striker Habib Diallo who are at the AFCON makes those victories all the more impressive. Veteran striker Kevin Gameiro has stepped up with some good performances and two goals in the last two games.

Strasbourg’s form has shown how tight the league is between 11th and second place. If any team in those positions can win three in a row they are suddenly pushing for a European place. Even without Djiku and Diallo Strasbourg have to be favourites for this match.

French Footy prediction: Bordeaux 1 - Strasbourg 2

Montpellier V Monaco - Kicks off at 16:05 GMT - Live on BT Sport ESPN

Montpellier are on the back off two surprising defeats. La Paillade had been on a great run of six straight wins in league and cup. Bit they were undone by a weakened Strasbourg side last weekend then beaten midweek at home to a struggling Troyes team. Both were surprising defeats but particularly the Troyes match. In that game Captain and talisman Teji Savanier was sent off for a stamp after 73 minutes. The attacking midfielder has been superb this season scoring five league goals with five assists. He is so often the driving force behind Montpelier’s attacking play but has now been sent off twice and banned separately for an accumulation of yellow cards. He is a big miss when not playing as he will be here. As well as Savanier, Montpellier will be without defender Ambroise Oyongo through the AFCON and Maxime Esteve through injury. Even without Savanier they are dangerous on the counter attack

Monaco may have turned a corner since new Manager Philippe Clement took over the helm. It’s still early days for the Belgian but in his two games in charge he has overseen a goalless draw at Nantes and a 4-0 home win over Clermont. Clement has had injuries and and Covid cases to deal with but midfielder Youssouf Fofana and striker Wissam Ben Yedder had recovered sufficiently enough from the latter to come off the bench last week. Both are important players and top scorer Ben Yedder proved his fitness by weighing in with two more goals so may well start here. It will be a relief to Clement to have these players back but Montpellier might prove a sterner test than the two previous opponents. The following players are still unavailable through injury; Aleksandr Golovin (attacking midfield), Djibril Sidibé (right back), Benoît Badiashile (centre back), Krépin Diatta (Forward) and Myron Boadu (forward). Monaco still have a decent first eleven to choose from. though which makes this game intriguing. These two teams seem well matched and are only separated in the table by three places and two points. That's what makes this game intriguing.

French Footy prediction: Montpellier 1 - Monaco 1

PSG V Reims - Kicks off at 19:45 GMT - Live on BT Sport ESPN

PSG won their first Ligue 1 game in three by beating Brest 2-0 at the Parc Des Princes last week. They had a little scare as Brest had two chances to take the lead., each of which was well saved by Gianlugi Donnarumma. Almost inevitably it was Kylian Mbappé who made the difference scoring both goals to take his season tally to 19 in all competitions.

The 23 year old missed training this earlier this week due to an adductor problem but should be fit to play against Reims. Lionel Messi too should have recovered sufficiently from Covid, finally, to feature. PSG still have a lot of players missing; Achraf Hakimi, Abdou Diallo and Idrissa Gueye are at the AFCON whilst Georginio Wijnaldum and Neymar Jr are injured. They should still have more than enough quality to to beat Reims.

Reims are comfortable enough in 4th place but lost, a little surprisingly, last week to strugglers Metz. Metz had so many first team players out that I thought bReims would pick up their sixth win of the season. Reims lost the game however at home to a single goal. The good news for Manager Oscar Garcia is that he has three players back for this game; midfielders Moreto Cassama (2 goals) and Azor Matusiwa striker Hugo Ekitike. Ekitike in particular is a welcome return after missing the last two matches through suspension. The 19 year old is Reims born and has scored 8 goals with 3 assists this season.

Les Rouges et Blancs still have three also have three players at the AFCON: left back Ghislain Konan, midfielder Moussa Doumbia and forward El Bilal Touré. Even with their top scorer back going to the Parc Des Princes to get a result is a tall order.

French Footy prediction: PSG 2 - Reims 0