Ligue 1 schedules this weekend it’s 25th round. The 25th matchday kicks off on Friday evening at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, where Lille (6th place – out of Europe!) will welcome Brest. Champions two years ago, Lille are coming off a dramatic 3-4 defeat to PSG at the Parc des Princes on Sunday. Brest are 16th in Ligue 1 and are going through a dark period. Les Pirates have collected just two points in their last four league games and are coming off two consecutive defeats.
The home win over Lille came as a breath of fresh air for PSG, who came after three defeats in less than a week, one in the league, one in the French Cup and, the most painfully, in the Champions League. Despite their unconvincing play this season, Christophe Galtier’s squad still sits top of Ligue 1. The Parisians face a hellish trip to the Vélodrome in Marseille. Second in the standings, Olympique de Marseille have not given up the fight for the title. A win on Sunday night for Igor Tudor’s team, as they did in the French Cup match, would revive the fight for the Ligue 1 title.
After four consecutive victories, Monaco is aiming for its fifth. Les Monégasques welcome the visit of neighbors Nice on Sunday. In 8th place, Nice has an impressive run of seven games without defeat (five wins and two draws). Nice’s last win in the Principality was on 27 September 2014, 1-0.
Fourth-placed Lens ended a four-match winless run this weekend. Franck Haise’s team got past Nantes, 3-1, and meets this round away with Montpellier – 14th place, two wins in the last two rounds.
Without a win since 18 September, Angers remains in last place in Ligue 1, with a slim chance of avoiding relegation. The installation of Abdel Bouhazama as head coach earlier this year has brought no change for the better at Angers. Angers will play at home to 9th-placed Lyon, who surprisingly lost 1-2 away to Auxerre this weekend.
Strasbourg, Brest, Troyes, Auxerre and Ajaccio are also fighting to avoid relegation. Under these circumstances, the clash between Ajaccio and Troyes, scheduled for Sunday at the Stade François Coty, is a “six-pointer”. The last clash between the two sides that took place in Corsica ended with an uncontested victory for Troyes, 4-0, on 31 October 2020 in the second league.
Stade de Reims continues its impressive unbeaten run. William Still’s team drew 0-0 at Nice last time out, extending their unbeaten run to 16 games!
