LIGUE 1 PREDICTIONS | Round 5

Ligue 1 Predictions, Round 5

GFFN editor-in-chief  Luke Entwistle and GFFN’s  Raphaël Jucobin face off in our Ligue 1 predictions competition. It’s three points for a correct score, two points for a correct score difference, and one point for a correct result. Who will come out on top at the end of the season?

SCORES

Raphaël: 21

Luke: 29

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

“I would have preferred it if he had joined Ligue 1 one week later.” That was Lyon manager Pierre Sage reacting to the impending arrival of France international Adrien Rabiot at Marseille. There is no doubt that Rabiot will drastically improve the quality of that OM midfield, and the control that they can assert. Given their attacking prowess and ability to frequently create chances, even without Rabiot, Marseille are a formidable outfit, as evidenced during their 2-0 win over local rivals Nice last weekend. There are goals throughout the team with both Luis Henrique and Neal Maupay showing the depth of attacking options at Roberto De Zerbi’s arrival last weekend. Combine that with Rabiot and there is a team that can perhaps truly challenge PSG. 

Luckily, for Lyon, Rabiot will likely be lacking in match fitness. The Frenchman hasn’t played since the Euros, having left Juventus following the expiry of his contract. A couple of full days of training is unlikely to be enough to see him slot straight into the side. That is good news for Lyon, who against Lens, looked to have solved their issue of imbalance. Whilst they didn’t get on the scoresheet, despite going agonisingly close on several occasions, they looked more solid defensively. Given the goals that they shipped in the opening three matches, that is important for Sage, whose boss, John Textor, set the objective of winning the Ligue 1 title this season. That is some big pressure heaped onto Sage’s shoulders and given that they already have an eight-point deficit to make up, it looks unlikely. But the feeling of crisis has abated at least. 

However, they head into this Choc des Olympiques as second favourites. They kept their first clean sheet of the season against Lens but they will struggle to do so again against Marseille.

Raphaël’s full predictions:

• Nice 2-1 Saint-Étienne

• Lille 2-1 Strasbourg

• Rennes 2-2 Lens

• Reims 1-3 PSG

• Monaco 3-0 Le Havre

• Angers 1-0 Nantes

• Montpellier 1-2 Auxerre

• Brest 0-2 Toulouse

• Lyon 3-3 Marseille

Luke’s full predictions

• Lyon 2-3 Marseille

• Lille 2-1 Strasbourg

• Rennes 0-1 Lens

• Nice 2-0 Saint-Étienne

• Reims 1-3 PSG

• Monaco 3-1 Le Havre

• Angers 1-2 Nantes

• Montpellier 1-0 Auxerre

• Brest 1-2 Toulouse

GFFN | Luke Entwistle