Ligue 1 week 22

Saturday:
Monaco v Grenoble
Le Havre v Nancy
Le Mans v Nantes
Auxerre v Lorient
PSG v Caen
Valenciennes v Nice
Rennes v Toulouse

Sunday:
Bordeaux v Lille
Sochaux v Marseille
Lyon v St Etienne

Top of the shop in France this week is a relatively local derby at Stade Gerland where St Etienne make the short trip. Added spice is liberally sprinkled over the top of it with Alain Perrin taking Les Verts up the road to the place he was at as late as last June after taking Lyon to their seventh consecutive title and first ever domestic double. His reward? The boot. Lyon need the points to hold the pack at bay while St Etienne need to stop throwing away leads and pull away from the drop zone. It looks a tall order for Perrin to get on over in his former employers.

The aforementioned chasing pack is headed by Bordeaux, the form team in the league. They take on an inconsistent Lille side that really ought to be in the running for a UEFA Cup spot, but just lack that killer instinct. Fourth play fifth as in-form Toulouse travel to Rennes. Les Violets are a free-scoring side with André-Pierre Gignac the league's top scorer while Rennes have just had a bit of a wobble lately. Of the other challengers at the top end, Marseille have a seemingly comfortable trip to Sochaux while PSG travel to Caen, the one Ligue 1 side to succumb to lower league opposition in the cup last week. Not only that, but without a win in five games, Franck Dumas' side are in freefall. Bad news for them, then, that Claude Makelele is back for the Parisians and Mateja Kezman, in favour after a stop-start (mainly stop) season so far.

At the other end, Le Havre host Nancy this week and they might just fancy their chances of an upset. The Lorraine side have been shipping plenty of goals lately. However, Le Havre have scored just two in their last six league games. They do have a host of new signings ready to go, but that eight-point gap to safety looks wider with every passing week. Nice travel to Valenciennes where the cold is the biggest problem. Travelling from the Cote d'Azur to the far north is tough at the best of times, but when the north is in the grip of freezing temperatures, you could forgive the southerners for wishing it was called off. Nice are going well, and Valenciennes seem to have turned a corner, not losing any of their last six. Converting draws into wins is what they need to start doing now though.

Auxerre are in danger of being dragged back into danger having lost four on the bounce and Lorient are the visitors to Burgundy this week. Auxerre have Polish striker Ireneusz Jeleń back after a broken collarbone which could spruce up their misfiring attack, but Lorient are nobodies mugs. Monaco are also on a poor trot and aren't out of danger themselves while their opponents in the Principality this weekend, Grenoble, are in wretched form. The Alpine side did start brightly though, and those early season points are what's keeping their heads above the waterline. Finally, Nantes travel to Le Mans where they hope to overtake their hosts as the two sides move in opposite directions in the league. Le Mans have been awful lately while Nantes are slowly discovering some form.