Montpellier HSC vs FC Nantes: Ligue 1 Clash Preview and Predictions

This Friday at 9pm, at the opening of the 31st day of Ligue 1, FC Nantes goes to the Stade de la Mosson to face Montpellier HSC. While the Canaries, who were heavily defeated in the derby against Rennes (0-3) are plagued by doubt in the race to avoid relegation, men are of a completely different mindset Michel Der Zakarian approaches the meeting. After three victories in the last four meetings, the Pailladins hoping to confirm their good form at the moment, to confirm their retention in the elite for good.

Maintenance was almost never achieved

Long stuck in the mano a mano at the bottom of the table, it seems that Montpellier has now done the hard part. Unlike Nantes, 14th and still under threat from Le Havre, La Paillade were able to get the better of their direct rivals to give themselves a comfortable eight-point lead in the red area: “There were very important victories against Lorient, Le Havre and also Reims, and that for me is the victory that seals our continuity.” said the journalist.

“Now why not look up and try to finish ahead of regional rivals Toulouse” – Dorian Bonzom

If relegation is still mathematically possible, the current format of the MHSC and the relatively accessible list of players Michel Der Zakarian leads editor MadeInFoot to be optimistic: “I think Montpellier could lose every game until the end of the season and still be up […] Metz, Lorient and even Nantes have records that are too complicated to narrow this points gap.

Teji Savanier: the X factor in the Montpellier side

If there’s one man Montpellier supporters can thank, it’s the MHSC captain. Indeed fifteen times this season in Ligue 1 (8 goals and 7 assists), the attacking midfielder has contributed greatly to his team’s return to form: “The impetus came from Teji Savannier who took over as the leader and carried the team on his shoulders towards retention, explains Dorian Bonzom, c“He is a player who needs to be watched like milk on a fire because he will know how to make the most of the smallest space he has left.

If the 32-year-old veteran is undoubtedly the main threat to Montpellier’s side this Friday, the journalist recognizes that other players could be weakening the Nantes defence: “Tanguy Coulibaly is in the position of a winger who scores but is also present for defensive efforts. He has earned a lot of momentum and is earning a place in the team […] We also have to look at Akor Adams who can move an athletic central defense like Pallois and Castelletto. »

Meeting against Nantes

If the residents of Nantes are more comfortable away than at home, where they remain on 8 defeats in a row in Ligue 1, Antoine Kombouaré’s players will have a hard time facing the residents of Montpellier. For the journalist we interviewed, we should see a rather closed game between two teams that will not want to lose: “I think so, despite the fact that Michel Der Zakarian rejected the story of the triple benefit, the spirit of revenge will animate the coach. He has set a target of 38 points and the players will be eager to seal their grip definitively in front of their home crowd, and Nantes will need to take points to stay on top. For me, it ends in a 1-1 draw. » he says.

When asked his opinion on the situation in which FC Nantes is currently going through, Dorian Bonzom pointed the finger at the management of the club, that he should not struggle to maintain it every season: “I find that it is a club that has a real soul and a real atmosphere and that it does not deserve to be languishing between 14th and 16th place in the ranking. […] For me these are [ndlr. Les Kita] people that the club has to let go because the management is very disastrous and we see it with the number of coaches who have succeeded together on the Nantes bench. »