Nancy kicked off Week 19’s action with a 1-0 win over Evian at the Parc des Sports on Thursday. The victory takes them provisionally three points clear, but with the other 18 teams still to play. The pressure turns to Dijon when they welcome Red Star on Friday night.
Dijon FCO v Red Star: Friday 20:00 @FRfootballWillG
Dijon’s form has been no surprise this season. After the Burgundy team just missed out on promotion last season they have strengthened in all areas and now boast perhaps the best player in the division in Frederic Sammaritano, signed from Auxerre.
Dijon deservedly sat top of the league before the Nancy win after stringing together six consecutive wins between August and September, and out of the 3 main promotion candidates are comfortably top scorers. They will have a well rested team after key players were spared in the 3-0 defeat to Lorient this week and they are likely to attack this game with the same style that has served them well so far. A huge 2-1 victory away at Metz last week showed that their promotion credentials are here to stay.
Opponents Red Star are more of a surprise, having enjoyed quite the turnaround in the last two months. The Parisien team now sit pretty in fourth place after promotion from Championnat National and are drawing praise from all corners. Since a 5-1 drubbing at home to a woeful Valenciennes side back in August, Red Star have lost just once in the league to provisional leaders Nancy, and are at the moment seven games unbeaten (5 wins, 2 draws). Central to their rise has been a solid base, with Lille loanee Julian Jeanvier immediately improving their fortunes, the defence keeping eight clean sheets since his arrival, but the impressive 3-1 dispatching of Ligue 2 giants Metz at the start of December shows they are no one-trick pony.
In Naim Sliti and Hameur Bouazza they have a blend of youth and experience that make them a frightening prospect, with the former tipped to go on to great things in the coming years. Given the magnitude of this fixture, however, expect them to place the emphasis on defence once more.
FC Sochaux v AC Ajaccio: Friday 19:00 – @meatmansoccer
Sochaux have had an extremely poor season so far, compared to what they expected. Previous coach Olivier Echouafni was already under plenty of pressure heading into the campaign and a winless first six games culminating in a 0-3 home loss to Sochaux resulted in his sacking. Albert Cartier is now in charge, and he is someone who knows how to gain promotions. He twice achieved it with Metz, most recently as champions of this division. However, it looks like it might take him some time to turn around the fortunes of Sochaux. Les Lionceaux have been in decline for a number of years now; the atmosphere around the club isn’t great and some of their home fixtures have a morgue-like atmosphere. It looks like the fans have lost belief in their side, the few that remain of course…
This fixture against Ajaccio was a Ligue 1 affair not so long ago, but the Corsicans have also slipped down the pecking order. Incredibly, this is 18th vs 17th in the division, showing how far both teams have fallen. The hosts are are least in decent physical condition with only midfielder Johann Ramare injured, along with defender Adolphe Teikeu. Ajaccio have a number of players suspended, including Anthony Lippini and Joris Sainati; the team is known for its poor discipline and this often costs them dearly. ACA are used to playing matches with 10 men (or even less!). The visitors have however, managed to find form recently. Olivier Pantaloni’s men are unbeaten in five games and performances have also improved during this period. Neither team is known for their goalscoring, so a tight contest can be expected. Perhaps a stalemate is the most likely outcome with defences coming out on top.
RC Lens v Bourg-en-Bresses: Saturday 13:00 – @FRfootballWillG
Since relegation from Ligue 1, Lens have been underwhelming to say the least, with it only being in the last two months that they have established any form at all. It took them until the 21st of September to get their first win of the season and until recently they could not haul themselves away from the bottom of the table.
Now in some sort of form, Lens are in ninth place on an eight-match unbeaten run, and looking upwards, though there are still underlying problems that should not be forgotten. Without a real presence up front, attacking midfielder Mathias Autret has often carried the team to results, with his invention and creativity a breath of fresh air in a rather dour side. The transfer window cannot come too quickly for Lens, but in the last match of the calendar year they will not want to abandon the resolve that has seen them climb the league.
Two leagues apart this time last year but now locked together in 9th and 10th place, the teams could not have had more contrasting seasons. Bourg are among the top scorers in the league and and have adopted a refreshing approach unseen in Ligue 2, with top scorer Pape Sané leading the line up front. Form has dipped of late however and attention will now shift to securing their status in the league for next year and trying to arrest the flow of goals they continue to ship at the back.
The return home to Stade Marchel Verchere will be more than welcomed by Bourg fans; easily the smallest contingent of fans in the league, they will be determined to cling on to their underdog tag that has made their season a success so far. Both teams will be looking to finish the first half of the campaign well but it could prove to be one game too far for Bourg who were given a thorough examination in the cup on Wednesday by Marseille.