The Stan James French Le Championnat 2005/2006 Preview

(Stan James - free sign up bet)Stan James Le Championnat Preview - Week Three <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />Nantes??...4/6Draw???11/5Ajaccio??17/4 Nantes have started the season like a team possessed, winning the first two and scoring five and conceding zilch. They are at home to Ajaccio, who have drawn their opening two matches. You're got to fancy a home win here. The Corsicans have never won in Nantes and their defence conceded three goals at home last week?.which is a worry. Nantes will have the momentum and could be a surprise package this year. Paris St German??.4/7Draw????.12/5Toulouse???..5/1 PSG are also unbeaten, but let's not get too carried away. Their opponents were Metz who they beat 4-1 at home and Sochaux who they beat 0-1 away. Both teams are weaker members of Ligue 1, and in fact Toulouse also beat Sochaux 0-1 away on the first day. PSG have been tipped to do well this season and they will know that they have to beat the likes of Toulouse if they want to be serious Championnat contenders. Again this looks a solid home win. Toulouse got beat 2-0 at home to Nice, which will have knocked them a bit, after that opening day win, but this is a big step up, and their record at the Parc De Princes isn't good. Auxerre..???EvsDraw????.2/1Bordeaux??..11/4 Bordeaux had a stunning 2-0 victory away at Marseilles on the opening day and then followed this up with a home win against Nancy. This though will be a tough test. Auxerre drew 0-0 with Strasbourg on the opening day, but then had a great win at Monaco. In the light of this it means that both sides will be bullish about their chances. It should be an entertaining game, but is difficult to call. Auxerre are traditionally a strong home side but you couldn't rule out the draw because both sides have a few key injury worries and this might have a negative effect on how they play. Marseille???2/1Draw????..15/8Lyon????..11/8 This is going to be interesting. Marseille have had a dreadful start in the league, losing the first two, but have had a great start elsewhere as they have reached the final of the Intertoto Cup. So it's a complex one this one. Marseille will have to stop the rot in the league and with Lyon looking ordinary in their opening two wins, this could be a chance to get their season back on track. It's a defensive issue for Marseille but they should by now be able to sort the mess out. Lyon will be at least happy to know that Essien is staying, although the player himself will be pretty gutted. It would have made him a very rich man indeed and he'll probably be sulking around for the next couple of games. This game really could be anything. Nice???EvsDraw??..15/8Sochaux?..3/1 Nice at evens looks a tempting bet. Sochaux are in crisis. Their coach left them pre season, along with a host of their top players, and they have lost two out of two and scored no goals. Nice on the other hand had a good away win at Toulouse last week. Sochaux have to do something but it just seems a bit of a mess at the club at the moment and things could get worse before it gets better. Lille???.8/15Draw???12/5Troyes?..?11/2 Lille are strong favourites to win this but they haven't exactly taken the league by storm so far, so don't get too carried away. They let in three goals against Ajaccio and Troyes will hope their strike partnership of Grax and Danic can capitalise on any defence frailties. The game is also a sort of derby game and Troyes will have good support to boost their chances. It is not a foregone conclusion that Lille will win this by any means. Nancy??..6/4Draw???9/5Lens???.15/8 An average start from both of these teams, with Lens showing the best form of the two, with their 2-0 victory against Marseille last week. If they build on that they should have enough to take three points from a Nancy side that has lost both their opening games. A tricky one to call because Nancy will desperately want to get at least a point out of this and they should fight tooth and nail to get it. Strasbourg??..15/8Draw?????9/5 Monaco????6/4 Both these sides have had spluttering starts to the season, and Monaco are under pressure in the Champions League Qualifiers as well after losing to Betis in midweek. They need a morale-boosting win, but Strasbourg will be no pushovers. They have drawn with Auxerre and narrowly lost to Lyon away, so they have had a tough start and arguably the better one. This could be a tight affair and the draw seems the obvious conclusion. A 0-0 stalemate would not be a surprise. St Etienne??.4/5Draw???..15/8Metz????.4/1 This is one of those uninspiring matches that could go either way, but will probably end in a draw. Both sides have picked up just one point so far and both have looked fragile defensively. We could see goals here, but what is more likely is that they will cancel each other out and produce a stalemate. Very difficult to call this one. Le Mans???.6/4Draw????.9/5Rennes???15/8 A local derby this one so it's wide open. Both sides have started badly, with Rennes without a point and praying that Alexander Frei starts finding the net. They have to fancy their chances against Le Mans who are new to Ligue One and finding it tough already. This does look like a good chance of an away win as everything suggests that Rennes' season could kick start itself here.