Thierry Henry’s will be hoping an injection of oomph can jump-start his nascent Monaco managerial career when the principality club travels to Reims on Saturday night.
The France World Cup winner was appointed to replace title-winning boss Leonardo Jardim with the 2017 Ligue One champions languishing in the bottom three following an inauspicious start to the season.
Three games into the former Belgium national team assistant manager’s tenure, Monaco are yet to enjoy the taste of victory. But results are improving. A one-all draw away to Club Brugge in the Champions League was followed by a 2-2 stalemate with fellow strugglers Dijon in a game in which they twice had to fight back from going down.
Champions Paris Saint Germain set the ball rolling when they host Christophe Galtier’s second-placed Lille on Friday.
Thomas Tuchel’s Parisians have won eleven games in a row to equal the record set by the great Saint Etienne side of the 1970s.
The match up with Lille promises goals as both sides boast firepower aplenty. PSG duo Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, together with Lille pair Jonathan Bamba and Nicolas Pepe are in the race for the Ligue One golden boot.
Another mouthwatering fixture takes place on Sunday night in Montpellier where the high flying hosts battle Rudi Garcia’s Olympique de Marseille. Both sets of fans expect them to bounce back from defeat. Montpellier suffered a humbling 0-3 hiding at the hands of Nantes in the Coupe de La Ligue whereas Marseille fell 0-2 to PSG at Stade Velodrome last time round.
At the Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Bruno Genesis’ vastly talented former champions will be gunning for all three points off visitors Bordeaux. With off season recruit Dembele finally getting into his element along with Memphis Depay and Burkinabe winger Bertrand Traore, Lyon’s attack should prove too hot to handle for Bordeaux.
The rest of Ligue One fixtures see rejuvenated Nantes host basement club Guingamp, Saint Etienne welcome Angers, Caen confront a Rennes outfit inspired by Hatem Ben Arfa and Patrick Vieira’s Nice welcome Amiens.
FRIDAY:
-Paris Saint Germain v Lille Metropole
SATURDAY:
-Olympique Lyon v Bordeaux @10:45pm
-Caen v Rennes @07:00pm
-Dijon v Nimes @10:00pm
-Nantes v Guingamp @10:00pm
-Nice v Amiens @10:00pm
-Reims v Monaco @10:00pm
-Strasbourg v Toulouse @10:00pm
SUNDAY:
-Nantes vs Guingamp @05:00pm
-Saint Etienne v Angers @07:00pm
-Montpellier v Olympique Marseille @11:00pm
