Nantes vs. Marseille (Wednesday, 6.00pm)
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Marseille will be looking to keep pace with the front-runners in the Ligue 1 title race when they travel to an in-form Nantes side on Wednesday night.
Nantes are yet to taste defeat since returning from the World Cup break, whereas Marseille have not lost in the French top flight since October.
We say: Nantes 0-1 Marseille
Nantes continued their perfect defensive record in 2023 on the weekend with a stalemate at Clermont Foot, but now face a Marseille team who have scored in each of their last 12 matches in all competitions.
Tudor's side know that they cannot afford to drop points in successive fixtures if they are to challenge PSG and Lens for the title this season, and we expect them to earn maximum points at Stade de la Beaujoire on Wednesday night.
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Reims vs. Lorient (Wednesday, 6.00pm)
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Reims can stretch their unbeaten run in Ligue 1 to 13 games on Wednesday when they host Lorient at Stade Auguste-Delaune.
An injury-time equaliser on Sunday enabled Reims to draw Paris Saint-Germain 1-1, while Lorient moved to within two points of Rennes for a spot in Europe, defeating them 2-1 on Friday.
We say: Reims 1-1 Lorient
Both teams are in good form at the moment, while each depend heavily on their respective star strikers to claim points.
There is little to choose between these sides as they are both well-organised and have shown plenty of poise and discipline in tense moments this season.
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Angers vs. Ajaccio (Wednesday, 6.00pm)
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Angers are in danger of making the wrong kind of Ligue 1 history on Wednesday, when they host Ajaccio at Stade Raymond Kopa.
Over the weekend, Les Scoistes dropped their 12th consecutive domestic fixture, 4-0 at Brest, as they remain at the bottom of the table with eight points, while Ajaccio are in the relegation zone as well, losing 2-0 to Lyon this weekend, their fourth straight loss in this competition.
We say: Angers 1-0 Ajaccio
As bad as the season has been for Angers, they might be due for one on Wednesday against a side who have been equally poor as them, while Ajaccio could be a little shell-shocked after what happened in their previous road outing at Monaco.
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Lille vs. Clermont (Wednesday, 6.00pm)
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2020-21 Ligue 1 winners Lille take on fellow European qualification candidates Clermont under the lights of the Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Wednesday evening.
Paulo Fonseca's side sit in seventh position in the top flight of French football, while The Lancers are hot on their hosts' heels in eighth place.
We say: Lille 2-2 Clermont
With Lille and Clermont meeting in only three previous historical head-to-head encounters, with the former emerging victorious in the reverse fixture on December 28 - 2-1 - we predict both sides will cancel each other out in a highly-entertaining contest at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
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Toulouse vs. Troyes (Wednesday, 6.00pm)
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Toulouse will be looking to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to seven matches when they clash with Troyes on Wednesday evening in Ligue 1.
Le Tefece Les Violets have moved away from any relegation fears at the bottom of the league standings over the past month, whereas Troyes need to improve on their recent form to maintain their position outside the bottom four.
We say: Toulouse 2-0 Troyes
Toulouse enjoyed an unbeaten January to start 2023 in style and now face a struggling Troyes side at home in their first fixture of an action-packed February.
Troyes earned a respectable point against Lens last time out but expended a lot of energy in the process, meaning a trip to Stadium de Toulouse on Wednesday evening is set to be a very tricky assignment.
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Lyon vs. Brest (Wednesday, 8.00pm)
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Lyon welcome relegation-threatened Brest to the Groupama Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Laurent Blanc's side currently occupy ninth position in Ligue 1, nine points adrift of the final European qualification position, while Brest are only three points above the relegation zone.
We say: Lyon 2-1 Brest
Undefeated in their last 12 matches against Brest across all competitions, we predict that Lyon will continue their recent one-sided bragging rights on Wednesday evening and, in turn, prospectively condemn their visitors to the relegation zone come to the conclusion of round 21 in Ligue 1.
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Monaco vs. Auxerre (Wednesday, 8.00pm)
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Fresh from extending their unbeaten run in Ligue 1 to five games, Monaco will be confident of heaping more misery on lowly Auxerre when they meet at the Stade Louis II on Wednesday.
Auxerre find themselves second from bottom in the Ligue 1 table – 25 points shy of fourth-placed Monaco – having lost each of their previous six league outings.
We say: Monaco 3-0 Auxerre
Monaco are the second-highest scorers in Ligue 1, while Auxerre have the second-worst defensive record in the division, so the hosts look set to claim a comfortable victory on Wednesday, condemning the visitors to a seventh straight league defeat.
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Montpellier vs. PSG (Wednesday, 8.00pm)
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Following yet another setback in their quest for further Ligue 1 glory, Paris Saint-Germain will aim to get off to a better start in February when they travel to the Stade de la Mosson for a meeting with Montpellier HSC on Wednesday.
The reigning champions were held to a 1-1 draw by Reims at the weekend, while their hosts ran out 2-0 victors against Auxerre.
We say: Montpellier HSC 1-2 Paris Saint-Germain
Fixtures with Montpellier have often been a walk in the park for PSG, but Galtier's side are enduring the true definition of a sticky patch, and the fervent Paillade faithful will be in a buoyant mood after their team's successful weekend exploits.
A rejuvenated Mavididi also spells danger for a Verratti-less PSG, but Galtier will be demanding an immediate response from his players and should get one against a leaky Montpellier side, although it may not be pretty.
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> How PSG could line up against Montpellier
Lens vs. Nice (Wednesday, 8.00pm)
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Title-chasing Lens will aim to maintain their 100% home record in Ligue 1 when they entertain Nice at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Wednesday night.
Having won all 10 of their home league games this season, second-placed Lens find themselves just three points behind Paris Saint-Germain, with Nice languishing in 10th place.
We say: Lens 1-0 Nice
Regardless of Nice's recent upturn in form, Lens look set to make it 11 wins from 11 home league games on Wednesday night, keeping yet another clean sheet in the process.
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Rennes vs. Strasbourg (Wednesday, 8.00pm)
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Rennes will be hoping to get their push for the Ligue 1 top three back on track when they host Strasbourg at Roazhon Park on Wednesday night.
The Red and Blacks have lost three of their last four games in all competitions, but still remain in fifth place, while the Blue and Whites are in the relegation zone after losing at home to Toulouse in their last match.
We say: Rennes 3-0 Strasbourg
Rennes' fantastic home record coupled with Strasbourg's very poor form suggests that there is only one way this game is going to go, with the hosts romping home to an easy victory.
The absence of Gameiro is likely to play a huge part, as the visitors are without one of their main attacking threats, and we cannot see them getting on the scoresheet without him.
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Barney Corkhill
