France 4/6 May

[igor5]

France Le Championnat

05 May 16:15 PSG v Lyon 2.50 2.75 2.90
05 May 19:00 Auxerre v Troyes 1.90 2.87 4.20
05 May 19:00 Nancy v Nice 2.25 2.75 3.25
05 May 19:00 Sedan v Lorient 2.15 2.90 3.50
05 May 19:00 Sochaux v Valenciennes 1.80 3.10 4.50
05 May 19:00 Rennes v Bordeaux 2.30 2.87 3.10
05 May 19:00 Lens v Toulouse 1.90 2.90 4.20
05 May 19:00 Le Mans v Nantes 1.85 3.10 4.20
06 May 17:00 St Etienne v Lille 2.20 2.87 3.30
06 May 20:05 Monaco v Marseille 2.50 2.75 2.90

France Ligue 2

04 May 19:00 AC Ajaccio v Metz 2.87 2.80 2.37
04 May 19:00 Chateauroux v Caen 2.62 2.87 2.50
04 May 19:00 Grenoble v Bastia 2.20 2.80 3.20
04 May 19:00 Gueugnon v Libourne 2.10 2.75 3.50
04 May 19:00 Guingamp v Niort 2.00 2.80 3.75
04 May 19:00 Istres v Reims 1.90 3.00 3.75
04 May 19:00 Le Havre v Dijon 1.66 3.10 5.00
04 May 19:00 Tours v Amiens 4.00 2.87 1.90
04 May 19:30 Strasbourg v Brest 1.40 3.75 7.00
07 May 19:30 Creteil v Montpellier 2.10 3.00 3.20
Bet365

[rcgills]

Not much really stands out for me tomorrow. Was interested in Guingamp - in fact I actually went as far as backing them - but having now read team news I've got cold feet, and have laid them off again. 4 of their full-backs are injured (Le Lan, Koscielny, Leuguen and Truchet), so a midfielder, Pinto-Borges (just 3 starts this season) will be filling in at right-back, and Jean-François (defender, 11 played this season) will be at left-back. Looks like Meslin is still missing for them too up front, and I've just got a sneaking feeling they're going to make things complicated for themselves again.

Two games I'm most interested in at first glance are Le Havre to beat Dijon and Chateauroux not to lose to Caen. Le Havre have only failed to win 6 of their 17 home games this season - 5 of those were against teams in the top 6, with the other one being against Brest. They've won 7 of their last 8 homes, and are 6 points off the promotion places with 4 games to go, so absolutely have to win here (although of course the fact they have to doesn't mean they will).

Their squad is as follows:
Blondel- Mandanda - Baca - Ducrocq - Soumaré - Hénin - Milambo-Mutamba - Ait Ben idir - Digard - Devaux - Kharbouchi - Martot - Alla Larant - Traoré - Lesage

Doesn't actually specify who's missing for them though, and I'll want to know before I'm prepared to consider backing them at around 1.65.

As for Chateauroux, it's more of a bet against Caen really. They're still in 2nd, but showing signs of feeling the pressure at the top - 5 games without a win now, and from their last 12 games, they've only won 3, against the teams in 15th, 18th and 20th. They tend to draw a lot of games away from home too, 5-7-4 for the season, and they've failed to win on their last 3 visits to Chateauroux. Chateauroux need an absolute miracle to get promoted, but strictly speaking they still have a tiny mathematical chance of getting there - they're 11 points behind Caen and Strasbourg (2nd and 3rd) with 4 to play. Having said that, Caen's run-in isn't too bad (Reims at home, Istres and Libourne away), and as they've got a 4pt cushion over 4th place at the moment, I don't think they'd consider a draw tomorrow a disaster.

Will wait until tomorrow in any case, but at the moment, it's Le Havre plus either Chateauroux or a lay of Caen on my shortlist.

[rcgills]

Bah, seems Chateauroux have got quite a few players missing through injury. Still wouldn't rule them out entirely, as the pressure seems to be getting to Caen, but the injury problems are enough to make it a no bet for me.

Still undecided on Le Havre. I've long since sworn not to touch anything below 1.6 in this division. Le Havre are above that price, but not by much, and I don't think I'm really interested at that price.

Sod it, nothing for tonight for me in this league

[Diomed]

Brief news from Ligue 1
Brief news from French clubs involved in this weekend's Ligue 1 matches:

* Tony Heurtebis will be in goal for Nantes when the eight-times champions visit Le Mans on Saturday in a game that could see them relegated for the first time after a record 44 consecutive years in the top flight.
Nantes will drop if they lose on Saturday and fellow strugglers Nice and Valenciennes do not.

* Paris St Germain, who need just a point out of their last four matches to make sure of escaping relegation, will miss striker Pierre-Alain Frau and defender Sammy Traore through injuries when they host champions Olympique Lyon on Saturday.
Lyon have already secured a sixth consecutive title.

* Lyon's Czech striker Milan Baros will be eligible to play on Saturday but will miss the remainder of the season.
Baros was handed a three-match ban by the French professional football league (LFP) for pinching his nose in front of Stade Rennes's Cameroon-born midfielder Stephane M'Bia in a Ligue 1 match last month.
The sanction, however, will take effect on Monday, which means Baros can play against PSG but will miss his side's last three league games.

* Sixth-placed Rennes, who host Girondins Bordeaux on Saturday, have reached a three-year deal with Dutch side Heerenveen's Sweden defender Petter Hansson.
Second-placed Bordeaux, who lost at home to Rennes this season, have gone nine matches without defeat but could struggle against Ligue 1's second-tightest defence.

* Auxerre defender Bacary Sagna has said he wanted to leave the Burgundy club and would be tempted by a move to the Premier League.
Nothing will be at stake for Auxerre when they host strugglers Troyes on Saturday.

* Lowly Nancy can turn to history for inspiration when they host strugglers Nice on Saturday. The last time the easterners lost a top-flight match at home to the side from the French Riviera was 27 years ago.

www.football.guardian.co.uk

[IsovitisGR]

i'm interested in Istres rc. i don't know team news but i see that they fight against relegation, at least they try hard. they come from a couple of away draws and today i guess is a crucial game for them. On the other hand Reims is unmotivated and despite the fact draw is a possible result for tose two, i'll go with...the motivated team. i don't think that French 2 will be my priority for tonight, cause i' ll be in Olympic Stadium of Athens to watch some nice basketball and, hopefully, to watch Panathinaikos to win GL all

[Energoto]

French Ligue 1
AC Monaco - O. Marseille

Pick: OM (0) @ 2.00 Betdirect

Monaco wellcome Marseille in the late fixture of Ligue 1. Both teams are in good form lately and this promise an entertaining game.
A run of 10 games without a loss and the monegasques are back in business. However its too late for this and now the season seems to be over for them, as the eurospots are more like an illusion. They have the quality, but they just lack constancy. Bernardi, Cufre and Gakpe remain sidelined, and these are three important players for the team.
Marseille is currently in 4th place, but they still have a chance to reach the CL spots. They have some easy home fixtures left, but if they really want to archieve it, they must improve their play on the road. OM have won only three times away from Velodrome this season, but I believe they can get a result in Monaco. The team hitted form just in time and with Ribery back they are playing some world class footie. Important defender Ronald Zubar is suspended for this game, but I think Julien Rodriguez is a good replacement.
A hard game to call, but I fancy OM here. The motivation should be high enough and with 25000 from their supporter at the stadium tonight, they should fancy their chances of winning this one.


taken from my blog http://energoto.blogabet.com/