Metz v Nice

Nice should make it five successive Ligue 1 wins in succession when they travel to struggling Metz. After all, the away form of Christophe Galtier’s side this season has been exceptional, with seven victories coming from 10 league matches.

On their travels, Nice have won four of their last five outings in Ligue 1. The exception was a scoreless draw against Paris Saint-Germain.

Also favouring the travelling side is that they will have virtually a full squad of players available thanks to Youcef Atal and Mario Lemina both returning from international duty.

Metz’s price appears to be too short, even at 4.75. Their home record has been simply dreadful this season, with just a single win to their credit at Stade Saint-Symphorien since beating Nantes a year to the day before this game.

Although they won in Reims last weekend – and looked surprisingly cohesive – their opponents were immensely disappointing.

Nice are unlikely to be so forgiving against a squad that remains immensely depleted, especially in defence.

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Angers v Troyes

Since making an exciting start to the season, much of the shine has come out of the performances of Angers, who now find themselves comfortably stationed in mid-table.

Gerard Baticle’s side stopped a three-game losing streak in all competitions against bottom club Lorient last weekend, though it would be a match they would have expected to win. Admittedly, they did play much of the match with 10 men.

Offensively, they will be deprived of key figure Sofiane Boufal, while Mohamed-Ali Cho looks likely to miss out injured.

At home, they post an unremarkable four wins, one draw and four losses this season.

Troyes, meanwhile, secured an excellent midweek win over Montpellier, taking advantage of their opponents going down to 10 men to give new head coach Bruno Irles his first win in his second game in charge.

They have been stronger on the road than at home this season, with three of their five victories coming on their travels.

With six of their last eight games producing fewer than three goals and Irles apparently favouring a conservative style, the likelihood is this will be a low-scoring affair.

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Bordeaux v Strasbourg

Bordeaux head coach Vladimir Petkovic goes into Sunday’s home match against in-form Strasbourg knowing that a defeat could very likely cost him his job. Thierry Henry is already being teed up for the post.

The home side are in a shambolic state behind the scenes, with the finances of the club abysmal and leading figures such as Laurent Koscielny, Paul Baysse and Otavio all frozen out. To make matters worse from a defensive viewpoint, busy midfielder Issouf Sissoko is banned.

Bordeaux can ill-afford to lose defenders. They have, after all, conceded an incredible 50 goals this season – at least seven more than every other team in the league. Previously, they have been buoyed by their goals, but they have failed to score in their last two.

Strasbourg, meanwhile, have won five of their last six, keeping cleansheets in three of these. Although they have only won four away matches all season, they have picked up three straight victories on their travels, including wins over Clermont and Metz, who are similarly positioned to Bordeaux.

It is hard to overlook the visitors getting another win for this season.

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Clermont v Rennes

Clermont have found the reality of Ligue 1 football is hard after making an flying start to the season that saw them go undefeated in four matches and lie third after that time.

Since beating defending champions Lille 1-0 at home in Ocober, they have lost eight of their 11 league fixtures, with little cause for optimism in recent weeks.

Without top scorer Mohamed Bayo, who remains away on international duty, they have failed to score in four successive matches and failed to even show a solid defensive face last weekend as they crumbled 4-0 against Monaco. They will face a similar standard of opponent in this game.

Rennes have not been in the best of form lately, but while they have lost three games, these losses have all come against difficult opponents.

Last weekend, they bounced impressively back to form with a 6-0 win over Bordeaux.

Indeed, they have been sweeping teams in Ligue 1’s relegation battle away impressively in recent times, posting a 5-0 win over Saint-Etienne, a 2-0 success over Lorient and a 3-0 win over Metz since the October international break.

Rennes are likely to take three more points here.

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Nantes v Lorient

Nantes and Lorient meet in a derby enough on Sunday, with the home side eyeing maximum points to move back into the top half of the table.

Everything points to a home win in this game. Although Nantes lost to Nice away from home last weekend, they put up a credible fight, while they had gone undefeated in their previous six in all competitions.

Nantes also have a strong home record this season, with five wins from 10 matches and only a couple of defeats.

Lorient, by contrast, are on a club-record run of matches without a Ligue 1 victory, including eight defeats in their last 10. Among these was a 1-0 home reverse against Nantes.

Moreover, Lorient’s last away win in the top flight was way back in October 2020.

In recent weeks, they have been comprehensively beaten by weak opponents such as Metz, Troyes and Angers and I expect Nantes to do the business on Sunday afternoon.

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Montpellier v Monaco

Montpellier have seen their season go off the rails a little over the last week – and they have only had themselves to blame. They were in a position of control against Strasbourg last weekend before having a player sent off and losing 3-1, while history repeated itself in a 1-0 midweek reverse to Troyes, which came as a significant shock.

Teji Savanier was the man dismissed in midweek – Montpellier’s attacking talisman. He is their joint leading scorer with six goals and has six assists to his name and will be banned for this match. This is bound to have a significant impact on their attacking capacity.

Monaco, meanwhile, eased past Clermont 4-0 at home last weekend to give new boss Philippe Clement his first victory. The form of Wissam Ben Yedder off the bench following Covid was particular cause for optimism as he scored twice, all but guaranteeing himself the opportunity to start in Montpellier. He has three goals in his last two games against Montpellier.

Only one of Montpellier’s last five home matches have seen both teams score, while only one of Monaco’s last five in Ligue 1 have ended with both sides finding the net.

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PSG v Reims

The scoreline may not have been particularly emphatic, but PSG’s 2-0 win over Brest last weekend was one of their most convincing league victories of the season. Although there were signs of defensive weakness in the first half, they largely bossed the game and could have won by far more.

Although Kylian Mbappe may be left out for this match as a precaution, Lionel Messi is set to return, so PSG will not be amputated of star offensive talent and should have far too much for their opponents to handle.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side have won 12 of their 13 home matches this season and have kept cleansheets in their last three in the league.

Reims, meanwhile, are very depleted all over their squad due to a mixture of injuries and international duty. Last weekend, they turned in a pitiful display to lose to struggling Metz 1-0 at home, although that was their first defeat in five.

They have lost their last four against PSG by at least two goals, and there is nothing to suggest that trend will be bucked on Sunday.

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