The Coupe de France should be a welcome distraction for CFA side Jura Sud as they take on ligue 2 opponents Creteil. The hosts currently sit just one place above the relegation zone in CFA Groupe B and only a couple of sides have lost more games than them so far this season. Their run through to this round of the cup has been fairly easy and all of their opponents have been from much lower leagues. In the previous round they even needed penalties to beat a DH outfit which is fairly shocking. But all that is in the past and the players are sure to relish being involved in a match like this one, where they are clear underdogs.Creteil will face a tricky trip to the Alpine region of Jura. Moirans en Montagne is the town where this match will be played in front of an estimated 2,000 crowd. The pitch and conditions aren’t expected to be easy which may well level out the playing field and gulf in class between the two sides. Officially their most valuable player is goalkeeper Arnaud Brocard. He has previously played at Ligue 2 level for a couple of sides and if Jura Sud are to spring a surprise, then it’s pretty obvious he needs to have a good game. Top scorer is Yannick Passape who has netted 6 times this season and another player worth keeping an eye on.
Jura Sud will always have a chance in a fixture like this because Creteil are nothing special. Also, the visitors probably won’t have much of a priority for this competition because their main aim is to survive in Ligue 2 following their promotion. The Parisian outfit started the season well but had a slump before the winter break, losing 4 of their last 6 games. Jean Luc Vasseur’s men are renowned for being nice to watch and they like to play positive attractive football; this has however come at a cost defensively as they have conceded 31 times in 18 ligue games, the 2nd-worst defence in the division.
To make matters worse, their best defender Vincent Di Bartolomeo is suspended for this contest along with key midfielder Cheikh NDoye. Both these players have hardly missed a game for Creteil this season so should be missed. Ndoye, especially, is a massive engine for them in midfield and the lack of his presence is sure to be felt. Nevertheless, the visitors will still have a range of attacking talent which could see them over the finishing line here. The likes of Faneva Andriatsima and Jean Michel Lesage have both been in good form this season and should be a class above a team like Jura Sud. This is the Coupe de France, however, and should Creteil get knocked out, it wouldn’t be the biggest of shocks.