FRANCE: Ligue 2 20:00 Troyes Vs Caen Troyes has many injuries all season, especially in defence. No fewer than three centre-halves – Rincon, Stephen Drouin and Matthieu Saunier – are missing this week, with outstanding holding midfielder Thiago Xavier’s participation also in question. With so many absentees it was no surprise Troyes conceded three goals at Nimes (3-2 defeat) last weekend. Team news for visitors Caen is much better: for the fourth league game in succession coach Patrice Garande can name his strongest line-up. Troyes Suspended: None Doubtful: Mohamed Camara (hip), Karim Azamoum (groin), Sega Keita (hernia), Thiago Xavier (thigh) Injured/unavailable: Stephen Drouin (knee), Sebastien Grax (knee), Matthieu Saunier (hamstring), Rincon (ankle) Caen Suspended: None Doubtful: None Injured/unavailable: None Caen 3-0 win over newly-promoted Creteil last weekend was a magnificent exhibition of attacking football – “they taught us a lesson,” admitted Creteil centre-half Vincent Di Bartolomeo after the game – but this match will be a more realistic test of Caen’s credentials. Troyes played in Ligue 1 last season and are better than their tally of 4pts from three games suggests. They lost 3-2 at Nimes last weekend but were the better team for long spells and would have picked up at least a point but for an exceptional display from Nimes goalkeeper Cyril Merville. betexplorer/soccer/france/ligue-2/nextmatch.php?matchid=Ag6T9AXF 20:00 Auxerre Vs Chateauroux The absence of Jamel Ait Ben Idir is a massive blow for Auxerre. The former Le Havre and Sedan midfielder has started the season in sensational form, developing into a key player for Bernard Casoni’s side within just a few weeks of his debut. There is no-one of a similar calibre available to dictate play for Auxerre from the centre of midfield. Chateauroux have a strong squad to pick from. Coach Didier Tholot could make changes after last weekend’s 4-0 home defeat to local rivals Tours. He has used a 4-4-2 and 4-3-3 but yet to find an effective formation. Auxerre Suspended: Jamel Ait Ben Idir Doubtful: Julien Viale (thigh) Injured/unavailable: Rudy Haddad (knee) Chateauroux Suspended: None Doubtful: Arnold Garita (leg), Massamba Sambou (thigh) Injured/unavailable: Nasser Chamed (knee), Jonathan Millieras (back) Will this be Didier Tholot’s last match in charge of Chateauroux? The pressure is building on the boss of ‘la Berrichonne’ after their 4-0 home defeat in the derby against Tours last weekend. It was a dismal performance, marred by some horrendous defensive individual errors and an all-round lack of drive and belief in most areas of the pitch. Auxerre suffered a heavy defeat of their own when they lost 4-1 at Lens last Saturday, although it was a different scenario – unlike Chateauroux, Auxerre were unlucky, with winger Paul-Georges Ntep tormenting the Lens defence all afternoon. On a different day the game might have ended 4-4. Chateauroux are likely to play for a point but with Ntep in such scintillating form and Auxerre’s defence generally more solid than they were last weekend it’s hard to see how the visitors can get anything from the game. betexplorer/soccer/france/ligue-2/nextmatch.php?matchid=UZpfeBIM 20:00 CA Bastia Vs Angers CA Bastia centre-half Adrien Monfray is suspended but that’s a minor issue as the Corsicans have good options in that area. They also potentially need fewer centre-halves than they would have done a couple of weeks ago because they switched from a 5-3-2 to a 4-4-2 at Istres last weekend and got a 1-1 draw, so coach Stephane Rossi is likely to use a back four again. Angers have had a lengthy injury list all summer and are likely to be without at least three or four players again. In theory the side is weaker without key midfielder Olivier Auriac and first-choice full-backs Gael Angoula and Ibrahima Diallo but these absences have had little impact so far: Angers have won three games out of three. CA Bastia Suspended: Adrien Monfray Doubtful: Remy Arnoux (foot), Dominique Agostini (knee) Injured/unavailable: Yohan Oswald (Achilles) Angers Suspended: None Doubtful: Gael Angoula (hamstring), Richard Socrier (thigh), Diego Gomez (calf) Injured/unavailable: Ibrahima Diallo (knee), Fabien Boyer (ankle), Olivier Auriac (groin) This was supposed to be the difficult second season for Angers, the one where they struggled to match last season’s final fifth position. They have a lengthy injury list but still winning their opening three games of the season, suggesting they might be a force to be reckoned with again despite losing last season’s 17-goal top scorer Claudio Keseru to Ligue 1 side Bastia. At the time of writing another highly-coveted player, Alharbi El Jadeyaoui, remains on the books. The winger recently had a short trial at Arsenal and has been linked with a number of clubs in Italy but came off the bench to play a crucial role in Angers’ 3-1 win at Dijon last weekend. CA Bastia got their first point of 2013-14 by drawing 1-1 at Istres last weekend but this game will pits them against a higher calibre of opposition. Angers have scored eight goals in their opening three league games, and it’s hard to see how CA Bastia’s back four can hold out against the sort of forward play Stephane Moulin’s visitors have exhibited so far. The Corsican hosts are still adapting to life in Ligue 2 betexplorer/soccer/france/ligue-2/nextmatch.php?matchid=E7MQkktp 20:00 Creteil Vs Istres Creteil are at full strength for the fourth game running. Coach Jean-Luc Vasseur may freshen up the side following their 3-0 defeat at Caen last weekend but a lot of the back-up players in the squad have little or no Ligue 2 experience so Vasseur’s hands are tied to an extent. Istres will without utility man Fouad Chafik, who adds zest and pace wherever he plays (he can operate in both full-back positions and midfield). Coach Jose Pasqualetti would love to have Guy Niangbo available but there are no guarantees about that: Niangbo had a heart problem diagnosed during pre-season. Niangbo was Istres’ best striker last season. Creteil Suspended: None Doubtful: Mathieu Lafon (thigh), Pedro De Oliveira (ankle) Injured/unavailable: None Istres Suspended: Fouad Chafik Doubtful: Guy Niangbo (heart problem), Mamadou Doumbia (hamstring), Alain Cantareil (knee) Injured/unavailable: None The honeymoon is already over. After three wins from their opening three games of the season in all competitions, Creteil were reacquainted with reality when they lost 3-0 at Caen last weekend. For the opening 20 minutes of a fantastic game they matched their illustrious hosts but from the moment Caen went ahead there was nothing the newly-promoted visitors could do to stop the Normandy outfit’s march towards victory. “It doesn’t matter whether you lose 1-0 or 3-0 – a defeat’s a defeat,” Creteil coach Jean-Luc Vasseur said pragmatically after the final whistle. “Now let’s see how the lads respond to this setback next weekend.” The chances of Creteil’s response being a winning one are improved by the fact they host Istres. Jose Pasqualetti’s side have collected just 1pt from their opening three games, and that came at home to relegation favourites CA Bastia last weekend. Istres played with 10 men following Fouad Chafik’s red card. They produced a lacklustre performance with 10 men on the pitch. betexplorer/soccer/france/ligue-2/nextmatch.php?matchid=rsRUl9ej 20:00 Le Havre Vs Nancy Le Havre winger Riyad Mahrez remains a doubt after sitting out their 1-1 draw at Niort last weekend. There is competition for places in attack as last season’s top scorer Yohann Riviere was dropped to the bench for that game. Summer signings Mickael Le Bihan and Moussa Sao are challenging for the spot in attack. Nancy attacker Romain Grange is suspended for a second consecutive game so Benjamin Jeannot and Alexandre Cuvillier should start. Midfielder Thomas Mangani made his comeback in Nancy’s 1-0 defeat at home to Brest on Monday night but fellow midfielder Lossemy Karaboue remains a doubt. Le Havre Suspended: None Doubtful: Jean-Pascal Fontaine (hamstring), Riyad Mahrez (thigh), Romain Saiss (neck) Injured/unavailable: Geoffrey Malfleury (foot), James Fanchone (groin) Nancy Suspended: Romain Grange Doubtful: Junior Joachim (leg), Lossemy Karaboue (ankle) Injured/unavailable: None Le Havre have picked up just 1pt from their opening three league games but this fixture gives them a great chance to finally get their first win. The most disappointing aspect of their play has been their attack – Le Havre have struggled to create chances, managing just one goal – but there are a couple of important factors counting against Nancy. The first is Nancy played on Monday night so will be the more tired of the two teams. The second is Nancy were very poor on Monday night – at home to Brest they started brightly but went 1-0 down and showed little appetite to get back into the game after that. And the third thing to take into account is Nancy’s star attacker Yohan Mollo was left out of the Brest game amid reports he’s on the point of leaving the club. That former Caen man may be on his way is no surprise, but his departure would still be a blow. Put all these factors together – plus the likelihood Le Havre will produce their first decent performance of the season sooner rather than later because of the number of good players on their books – and the home win becomes appealing. betexplorer/soccer/france/ligue-2/nextmatch.php?matchid=Ox4HCCmc 20:00 Metz Vs Niort Metz are likely to name an unchanged side after winning 1-0 at home to Arles last weekend. Former Lille striker Nicolas Fauvergue started alongside three-goal top scorer Diafra Sakho. Thibault Bourgeois operated on the wing, forcing highly-rated Yeni Ngbakoto on to the bench. Niort may be below-strength in defence for the second week running as Quentin Bernard remains a doubt. Should he be unavailable Frederic Bong is likely to continue at centre-half, with Nicolas Pallois – who normally plays in the centre of defence – operating at left-back. Metz Suspended: None Doubtful: Moussa Gueye (calf), Michel Le (knee), Maxwel Cornet (calf) Injured/unavailable: Guido Milan (knee), Alhassane Keita (knee), Johann Carrasso (knee) Niort Suspended: None Doubtful: Quentin Bernard (thigh) Injured/unavailable: Luigi Glombard (ankle), Jimmy Juan (knee), Jerome Lafourcade (back) MATCH PREVIEW Metz ran out 1-0 winners over Arles last weekend. They certainly have a focal point in attack and that allows them to win games even though without dominating. On route to promotion from France’s third division last season Diafra Sakho was their 19-goal top scorer and he has started 2013-14 in similar fashion, scoring three goals in three games. Metz recently added giant striker Nicolas Fauvergue to their ranks as well so now boast potentially Ligue 2’s most physically powerful forward partnership to lead the line. This game is likely to be a clash of styles- Metz are direct and Niort pass the ball more. Niort’s problem is the lack of a focal point in attack, something that led to them being last season’s draw specialists. Their record so far this season? Three games played, no wins, no defeats – and three draws betexplorer/soccer/france/ligue-2/nextmatch.php?matchid=xt8LBW23 20:00 Tours Vs Nimes Tours are waiting to hear whether midfielder Pascal Berenguer and striker Bryan Bergougnoux return from injury. Both have Ligue 1 experience but the team will be confident even if they go into the game without them as they won 4-0 at Chateauroux without the pair last weekend. Nimes centre-half Benoit Poulain suffered a knee injury last week and is out. The problem is exacerbated by the fact understudy Romain Sartre is also missing. France U20 winger Anthony Koura has a troublesome knock that has kept him out of the past couple of games. He remains a doubt. Tours Suspended: None Doubtful: Pascal Berenguer (thigh), Bryan Bergougnoux (hernia), Lorry Mengual (ankle) Injured/unavailable: None Nimes Suspended: None Doubtful: Anthony Koura (thigh), Gauthier Gallon (back), Jonathan Parpeix (thigh) Injured/unavailable: Mohamed Benyahia (hernia), Benoit Poulain (knee), Romain Sartre (groin) It all came together beautifully for Tours last weekend when they made the short journey to face local rivals Chateauroux at Stade Gaston-Petit and emerged 4-0 winners thanks to a wonderful display that combined sound organisation and clinical finishing. Last weekend Nimes were 3-2 winners over Troyes but were lucky to collect all three points. They somehow survived a late flurry of Troyes attacks but overall it was an average performance. If they play the same way this weekend they are unlikely to be as fortunate, especially if Tours’ injured players return to the starting line-up. Tours are building some momentum and will go into the game full of confidence after that spectacular derby win. betexplorer/soccer/france/ligue-2/nextmatch.php?matchid=W27PAjI9 20:00 Arles Vs Clermont Arles have problems in attack for the second week running – Billel Omrani, on loan from Marseille, is still out, while Chaouki Ben Saada and Maurice Dale are doubts. The pair have started the season in excellent form so it was no surprise Arles failed to score without them at Metz (1-0 defeat) last weekend. Clermont will also be weaker in attack as their top scorer from last season, Mana Dembele, is suspended after getting sent off last weekend. Fellow striker Gregory Bettiol missed that 2-1 win over Laval and is still a doubt so summer signing Remy Dugimont may lead the line. Arles Suspended: Billel Omrani Doubtful: Chaouki Ben Saada (leg), Maurice Dale (leg) Injured/unavailable: None Clermont Suspended: Mana Dembele Doubtful: Gregory Bettiol (thigh), Mehdi Jeannin (leg), Jacques Salze (nose) Injured/unavailable: Pierrick Capelle (knee) Do Arles have an attitude problem? It may be early in the season to be asking fundamental questions but the side have failed to score in their last two games and posed little threat after going behind in both matches. Against Troyes a fortnight ago they went 1-0 down and never looked capable of getting back into the game before a similar scenario unfolded at Metz last weekend (that game also finished 1-0). Arles assistant coach Noel Tosi hinted his players needed to mentally toughen up after the game. Unless Arles have found an injection of character from somewhere over the past seven days, this is a game they might struggle to win. Clermont go into the match brimming with confidence after winning three games out of three. Nobody predicted they would blaze such a trail: most observers had them down as relegation candidates. Mana Dembele’s absence diminishes the visitors’ chances of winning, and Clermont are playing with such spirit. betexplorer/soccer/france/ligue-2/nextmatch.php?matchid=Iasjdi3G
Posted on: Fri, 23 Aug 2013 09:16:20 +0000