The clash: PSG-Lille
Water has flowed under the bridge since the 7-1 inflicted by PSG in Lille, at the heart of a promising month of August for the capital club. The defeat against Bayern Munich (1-0) on Tuesday in the Champions League is indeed the third in a row for the team led by Christophe Galtier, in all competitions. The pressure has risen a notch around the 56-year-old coach, champion of France 2021 on the bench of LOSC.
At the Parc, a jump and a boost are expected, at the risk of seeing OM come back strong in the rear view mirror, a week before the next classic at the Vélodrome. The Marseillais are only five points behind before their trip on Sunday (8:45 p.m.) to Toulouse.
Conversely, Lille is doing well when challenging the Parisians. Well helped by Jonathan David, co-second top scorer in L1, the Northerners remain on two victories against Rennes and Strasbourg, synonymous with fifth place. “We have to be on a mission to get a European place and that goes through the match in Paris on Sunday,” said Lille president Olivier Létang. At the Parc, “you always have to make a perfect match, having success” so as not to come back empty-handed, “we will go with our convictions”.
Player: Balogun, Sharp Gunner
The Stade de Reims, tenth before challenging the Aiglons de Nice on Saturday, is evolving in quite unexpected heights this season thanks, in particular, to its amazing striker Folarin Balogun. At two-thirds of the championship, the young 21-year-old Englishman tops the ranking of top scorers with fifteen units, ahead of confirmed stars Jonathan David, Alexandre Lacazette, Wissam Ben Yedder and Kylian Mbappé.
Undefeated since September 18 (3-0 defeat against Monaco), Reims is still counting on its gunner to cut off the momentum of Nice, seventh after five victories in six matches. The Champagne club is making the most of the contribution of the player on loan from Arsenal, before his probable repatriation to England next season. “When you look at the numbers and what he’s doing, it’s just amazing. It’s very rare to see this. But he has something special, that’s why we decided to offer him a long-term contract, to have faith in him,” Mikel Arteta recently commented.
The Arsenal manager describes a “very ambitious, very committed and very courageous” young man who is gradually erasing the “scars” of his previous, less successful loan spell at Middlesbrough. “He was so convinced” about joining Reims, “I am really, really happy for him because he deserves what is happening to him”.
The program for the 24th day
Friday February 17:
9 p.m.: Auxerre-Lyon
Saturday February 18:
17h : Nice – Reims
21h : Strasbourg – Angers
Sunday February 19:
1 p.m.: Paris SG – Lille
3 p.m.: Brest-Monaco
Lorient – Ajaccio
Rennes – Clermont
Troyes-Montpellier
17h05 : Lens – Nantes
20h45 : Toulouse – Marseille
The number: 8
In the standings, eight points separate Strasbourg, first relegated, and Angers, the red lantern, before their clash on Saturday (9:00 p.m.) in Alsace. In the maintenance mission, the two teams play big at Meinau.
Appointed on Monday, Frédéric Antonetti shows off his new suit on the Racing bench and he believes in it “hard as iron”. “People always say to me, ‘How do you regain confidence?’ Well you have to go on the field and then dare, undertake and repeat, repeat, to achieve it after a match, ”explained the former coach of Bastia, Saint-Etienne, Rennes, Nice, Lille and Metz.
The RCSA, seventeenth with 18 points, has won only three L1 victories this season. A fourth could allow him to leave the red zone by overtaking Troyes (16th, 19 pts), or even Brest (15th, 20 pts), two teams which receive Montpellier and Monaco respectively on Sunday.
The situation is much more perilous for Angers, stuck in last place with ten points, five less than the penultimate Auxerre and eight less than Ajaccio and Strasbourg.
After thirteen successive setbacks, the SCO nevertheless stopped the bleeding against Lorient (0-0) and Auxerre (1-1). “I want to lean on this little mattress of hope, I still believe in it,” said coach Abdel Bouhazama positively in reference to the penalty missed by AJA in added time.
