Ligue 1 – 33rd Day – The last six clash: three matches, three meetings to tremble

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If the adage of the “six-point match” is sometimes used in abundance and badly, difficult to find another formula to qualify the three meetings between the last six of the championship of France this Wednesday (7 p.m.). Unheard of coincidence in the calendar, the teams from 15th to 20th place all compete against each other on the same day, as a sign of fate. Bordeaux against Saint-Etienne, Lorient against Metz and Troyes against Clermont: there will be breakage for sure during this 33rd day, which will already give preponderant tendencies in the fight for maintenance. Quick overview of these three oh so important duels for these six clubs.

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  • Ranking of the last six Ligue 1 teams before the 33rd day:

2 HOURS AGO

15thTroyes33 points
16thLorient31 points
17thSaint Etienne30 points
18thClermont29 points
19thBordeaux26 points
20thMetz24 points

Bordeaux (19th) – Saint-Etienne (17th), at the crossroads

Two dynamics that completely intersected in the space of a week. The day after the 31st day, the Greens were at their worst after a real slap suffered in Lorient (6-2) against a direct competitor, which a dumbfounded Pascal Dupraz had a hard time explaining. The Girondins for their part, had just signed an oh so precious success, the first in almost three months, against the now red lantern Messina (3-1), which should give them a lot of confidence as the final sprint approaches for the upkeep.

Before this 33rd day, however, it is a completely different state of affairs for these two monuments of the French championship. Bordeaux has just been scuttled by cashing a suitcase against a Lyon yet takeable last Sunday (6-1) and few grounds for hope remain, when the Greens resumed their march forward thanks to a success over Brest at home (2-1). The punished Mahdi Camara came back in the best possible way with a doubleand Sainté even allows himself to leave the relegation zone.
  • Two unpredictable teams
So with the approach of this duel which still weighs 16 French championships, very clever will be the one who can give the trend of the two teams on Thursday morning. David Guion’s men will try to take refuge behind the support of their public, which has (once again) decreed national unity behind its players, on the ardor of an interesting Sékou Mara on Sunday, and on the hope not to see their goalkeeper crack and stupidly offer goals to the opponent. In Saint-Etienne, we will have to hope for a regularity that the Greens have never really had this season to bring back a result from Matmut-Atlantique, which would almost condemn the Girondins to a descent into Ligue 2. But nothing is less certain, as the defensive shortcomings seen at Moustoir ten days ago worried (rightly) the followers of Saint-Etienne. In view of their respective seasons, we could almost bet on a defeat for both clubs…

Guion, Adli, Onana with Bordeaux

Credit: Getty Images

Lorient (16th) – Metz (20th), a gap at all levels

On paper, it’s the most unbalanced duel in the standings, between 16th and last. Lorient is seven points ahead of FC Metz, a huge gap six days before the end of the championship. The Hakes are far from being saved, with only two points ahead of the barrage, but the last two successes acquired against direct competitors in Clermont (2-0) and especially against ASSE two days ago ( 6-2) have enough to ensure full confidence in the men of Christophe Pélissier. An attack founda Moustoir stadium filled with a public determined to play their role to the full to leave their club in Ligue 1 for one more season, and an opponent lower than earth: Lorient has all the cards in hand to sign a major success on Wednesday evening.

Because opposite, the Mosellens no longer see the end. Without a win since January 16, more than 3 months, the men of a suspended Frédéric Antonetti and exiled to the stands for seven matches, and who will return to Lorient, are five points behind the barrage. Worse still, they have won only four tiny times this season, never leaving the relegation zone since the sixth day of Ligue 1. The Messins are clueless in the game, and are now also struggling to keep their clean sheet, which had been their strength at the start of 2022. In Lorient on Wednesday (7 p.m.), there will be everything from the last chance match for Nicolas de Préville’s partners.

  • Lorient is the natural favorite
A duel that the Messins will have to tackle without their suspended striker Ibrahima Niane, nor their injured captain Dylan Bronn. The latest results of the two clubs, namely a defeat in Nice for Lorient (2-1) and a draw in Clermont for the Messins (1-1) are misleading: Lorient is the favorite of this confrontation, and should, unless surprised, recover three precious points in the quest for maintenance. Frédéric Antonetti made no mistake about it in a press conference: “We have a 95% chance of going down. ” A defeat in Messina on Wednesday, and it is almost certain to see the Garnets in Ligue 2 next year.

Frederic Antonetti

Credit: Getty Images

Troyes (15th) – Clermont (18th), the two promoted will want to kill each other

Once again, the gap between the two teams in the standings is explained by diametrically opposed dynamics. On the one hand, ESTAC have lost only once in the last seven matches, four points ahead of their opponents on Wednesday. The Bruno Irlès paw is starting to be felt, despite the revolt of the supporters towards him a few weeks ago, and the players all seem concerned, like the last two convincing results of the Trojans: a success obtained in the snatch against Reims (1-0) in added time, and a draw saved in extremis against Strasbourg (1-1) last Sunday. With a small mattress ahead of the relegated as well as a fortress found at the Stade de l’Aube, the Aubois have reason to hope to be able to avoid a new lift between Ligue 1 and Ligue 2.

In Clermont, the weather is rather worrying. Long at a respectable distance from the relegation zone, the men of Pascal Gastien sink in 2022, and now occupy the place of roadblocker. With a black series of seven games without a win, including five defeats in a row from J27 to J31, the Auvergnats can no longer do it and worry about their first season in the elite. Unable to force the decision against an FC Metz yet reduced to ten more than a half (1-1)the Clermontois have a rather affordable calendar, but for that it will be necessary to seek a result on the lawn of Troyes, at the risk of seeing Bordeaux recover this famous 18th place.
  • The pressure will not be on ESTAC

In this promoted duel, which had turned in favor of Clermont Foot on the first leg on the second day (2-0), the pressure will clearly be on the visiting team. With the benefit of not being able to procrastinate after Sunday’s poor performance, the Clermontois are already playing part of their survival in the elite on this meeting. The Trojans have many reasons for satisfaction and confidence when receiving an opponent who will not be able to overtake them at the end of this day. Thanks to its 15th place, ESTAC will be in the worst case 16th on Wednesday evening. A luxury joker for the men of Irles, who will therefore have no complex in front of their public to go a little further away from the red zone and confirm the good form of the moment. “You have to go for ‘points’, not a point“, said the Trojan coach at a press conference, a symbol of Champagne’s ambitions at the end of the season.

The distress of Johan Gastien after the frustrating draw from Clermont to Metz (1-1)

Credit: Getty Images

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