French champions Lille (8/1 1in Match Prices – 90 Mins with bet365) appear to be playing bogey side Sochaux at just the right time as they bid to catch up to the top two in Le Championnat on Wednesday.
Lille may well have only won one of their last 34 Ligue 1 matches away to the former Renault car plant worker’s club, suffering 22 defeats and registering 11 draws, but Sochaux are in woeful form and sit rock bottom in the table.
The Stade Bonal club have only scored one goal in their last eight league games, losing five and drawing three of them.
Their plight stems from the loss of star striker Modibo Maiga to illness as the Mali hitman contracted malaria while at the Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon. In his absence, their impotent attack has seen them score only once from their last 71 shots in Ligue 1.
Lille remain tough to beat, although Rudi Garcia’s side must still be kicking themselves at letting a point go after a remarkable comeback against Bordeaux last week.
Lille battled back from 4-1 down to level it in the 90th minute when January signing Noland Roux hits his third goal in as many games, but former player Ludovic Obraniak settled it in stoppage time in favour of Bordeaux 5-4.
There won’t be as much drama on show this week but Lille, who have only lost one of their last 15 away games in Ligue 1, should pick up the points.
Paris Saint-Germain boss Carlo Ancelotti claims the club have been offered the chance to buy Fernando Torres, Dimitar Berbatov and Roman Pavlyuchenko during the current transfer window (4/11 PSG – Le Championnat outright with bet365).
The Parisian club were bought by a Qatari consortium last year and have not been afraid to splash the cash, spending over £85million last summer on a series of top stars.
This has led to a number of other names being linked to them over the past few months and with the Italian coach having only taken control in December, he is sure to be looking to bring in his own players.
PSG have repeatedly stared their desire to sign a top-class striker in January as they look to transform themselves into genuine European contenders and having had previous bids for Carlos Tevez and Alexandre Pato rejected, they’re clearly not looking to settle for second best.
The trio of Premier League stars have all struggled to hold down a place in their current side’s leading to rumours that they could be sold in January. The Parc De Princes could be the ideal destination and the former Chelsea (12/1 Champions League outright with bet365) boss says he wouldn’t blame them for joining him in the French capital.
“There is a lot of choice for this January market,” Ancelotti told Gazzetta dello Sport. “Since I signed for PSG I have received hundreds of calls from agents proposing their client: Falcao, Tevez, Torres, Berbatov, Pavlyuchenko, Cavani, Llorente.
“All want to come here: there is money, there is Paris, there is a good coach.”
Talented France (11/1 to win Euro 2012 with Stan James) international Moussa Sissoko has admitted that he would relish the chance to play for a big club in the Premier League.
The 21-year-old is currently plying his trade for Toulouse in Ligue 1 and has become one of the key players for the club.
Sissoko made his debut for the southern France side when he was just 17-years-old and has since earned himself a full international cap with Les Bleus.
The holding midfielder has been linked with a number of top clubs across Europe including Juventus, Liverpool and Manchester United (15/2 to win the Premier League).
However, Sissoko has insisted that it?s in the English Premier League where he would love to eventually play.
He said: “I would be delighted if one day I am lucky to join a big English club. But I don’t think about it so far. I had contacts with English clubs, notably Liverpool, but I preferred to commit myself to Toulouse, the club where I have been educated, to get more experience.
“It is up to me to go on improving, to become a world class player, to play in the biggest clubs and to join the French team as soon as possible.”
Sport News 24/7
French champions Lille (8/1 1in Match Prices – 90 Mins with bet365) appear to be playing bogey side Sochaux at just the right time as they bid to catch up to the top two in Le Championnat on Wednesday.