Down in Corsica, Bastia will be entertaining Evian with just four points separating the pair in the league. The home side will be hoping to show off their latest recruit, the former Liverpool and Marseille forward Djibril Cisse; the forward has spoken of his desire for a recall to the French national side ahead the World Cup. Cisse has hardly featured regularly for France in recent years but given the country’s recent striking problems it has to be admitted that stranger things have happened.
Things have been going rather well for the Corsican side since their return to the top flight and they’ve built something of a fortress at home. This season in the league only the top three sides PSG, Lille and Monaco have taken more points at home than Bastia, and if they could start picking up more points away they’d be a real force. Frederic Hantz has built a very strong squad and he’s made some very astute signings. Wingers Ryad Boudebouz and Milos Krasic have provided perfect partners to Wahbi Khazri in the attacking trio behind a forward and the latter’s loan has looked particularly astute.
Evian, meanwhile, are starting to miss the presence of Yannick Sagbo, now of Hull City. The Ivorian was never the most regular goalscorer but he brought a lot to the team. Kevin Berigaud has done his best, in fact he has already matched Sagbo’s tally from last season, but he has been missing through injury recently and as such his last goal came in the draw against Bordeaux in September.
These two sides met at the start of December and the home side took the three points that day with a 2-0 win. Krasic and Khazri did the damage and given Bastia’s home form it is hard to imagine anything other than a repeat outcome when the two sides meet again.
Evian’s away form is pretty dire – well their form generally is pretty dire – and although it is better than Bastia’s away form it isn’t Bastia who are playing away. Additionally the hosts don’t have the Coupe de la Ligue on the table so have one fewer fixture to think about. Evian face another away trip in that, this time to Troyes just ten days after this match and they’ll be playing five games in thirteen days all in all, which means plenty for Pascal Dupraz to think about.