Ligue 1 Predictions | Round 20

Game of the week: Olympique Lyonnais v Olympique de Marseille, Sunday 19:45 (UK)

The result of a Choc des Olympiques usually determines either who wins the title, or at least who earns a Champions League qualification. It is not a game that determines Ligue 1 survival. But it is this year. Lyon have relapsed after a strong December. Pierre Sage was confirmed as manager until the end of the season during the winter break, and ever since, performance levels and results have fallen off a cliff. Their first-half performance against Rennes was nothing short of catastrophic and there is a need to rediscover that seemingly ephemeral December form. Motivation won’t be in short supply given the animosity between the two sides, which was only reinforced by the violence witnessed during the reverse fixture in October. Lyon have also secured some high-quality reinforcements. The quality of the squad is not in question, but what is is their capacity to play as a team. Until they can act like a coherent unit, those fears of relegation will persist. 

Marseille don’t head into the fixture in the best shape either. On the face of it, a 2-2 draw against Monaco is by no means a bad result. But when you consider that Monaco were down to 10 men for over 80 minutes, and finished the game with nine men, the draw is highlighted as a failure. Like Lyon, Marseille showed their most consistent and promising run of results in December, but they have been sorely lacking since the return from the winter break. The AFCON absence were a big reason for this, but that excuse has now reached its expiry date. Iliman Ndiaye, Ismaïla Sarr, Amine Harit and Azzedine Ounahi have now returned to bolster Gennaro Gattuso’s options. Quentin Merlin’s arrival at left-back also significantly improves the quality of the OM defence. Results are now needed for Marseille to push on in the second half of the season and secure a spot in European football for next season.

Raphaël’s full predictions

• Strasbourg 1-3 PSG
• Rennes 2-2 Montpellier
• Nantes 0-2 Lens
• Monaco 2-0 Le Havre
• Reims 3-1 Toulouse
• Lille 4-0 Clermont
• Metz 2-2 Lorient
• Brest 0-0 Nice
• Lyon 2-1 Marseille

Luke’s full predictions

• Strasbourg 0-3 PSG
• Brest 1-1 Nice
• Lyon 2-2 Marseille
• Rennes 2-0 Montpellier
• Nantes 0-0 Lens
• Monaco 3-1 Le Havre
• Reims 2-1 Toulouse
• Lille 3-0 Clermont Foot
• Metz 0-0 Lorient

GFFN | Luke Entwistle