Ligue 1: 3 Big Questions for the Weekend
Will PSG poacher experiments continue and have Nice fans turned nasty?
Does Lyon's miracle man have everything Toulouse in Ligue 1?
When Lyon's third coach of the season, Fabio Grosso, was fired at the end of November after a disastrous run that put Lyon smack in the middle of a relegation fight, the academy coach, Pierre Sage, was only supposed to be a filler until someone more experienced could be found. And then fired sometime in March.
Four months later and Sage is still in charge. In fact, he is flourishing, as is his team. Lyon are now comfortably in mid-table having won five games from six in Ligue 1. A previously fractured locker room is now all with the hugs and high-fives. The fans' frowns have turned upside down.
Yet, technically speaking, Sage is only the head coach until the end of the season before a new permanent, permanent, permanent coach is installed. However, a few more wins in Ligue 1 could see Lyon making a run for the European places, which are currently nine points away. It may seem like quite the hike in March, but at Lyon's current impressive pace, anything is possible as Sage could be around a little longer to spice things up in Ligue 1.
Friday 3:50PM ET - Toulouse vs. Lyon - Live on beIN SPORTS
Will furious fans have a Nice day at Lens?
If you looking to invest in a surefire winner to make a solid buck, then buy into a company in France that makes those huge banners held up by fans in soccer grounds. They have been pretty prevalent of late in Ligue 1 with the fans of PSG, Marseille, Lyon, Strasbourg to name but a few waving them in bulk to express their displeasure to their respective owners.
The most disgruntled Nice fans bought themselves a giant banner which read “Not another year without Europe: Get Moving!” That was polite at least than the chant suggesting players forth and multiply if their heart wasn't in the cause.
The reason for this ire is Nice's reason run of four defeats in five games, after a fairly promising first half of the season which saw Nice in the running for a top-three finish and the Champions League next season. Nice are now five points away from that threshold and are desperately hanging on to sixth. The Mediterranean outfit are visiting a Lens side that has taken advantage of their slip to sit two points and one place above, and are showing the kind of form that could see Lens qualifying for the Champions League in consecutive years.
Saturday 3:50PM ET - Lens vs. Nice - Live on beIN SPORTS
How long will PSG race with their test drivers?
Luis Enrique is on a learning curve in Ligue 1, in his debut season, with the PSG coach admitting that the league is not a cakewalk. “Before arriving here, I thought that Ligue 1 was an easy championship, but it’s quite the opposite,” admitted the Spanish coach ahead of PSG's Coupe de France quarterfinal win against Nice. Enrique is also getting a grip on if the team can succeed without Kylian Mbappe, something that is set to be the club's destiny next season. The answer so far is 'not really'.
Ever since PSG began to either leave the French striker on the bench or bring him off early, PSG have stumbled to three draws in a row in Ligue 1 which is the longest time for the club without a league victory in nearly two years. In that three-match spell, PSG have scored just one goal from open play, the others being a penalty and an own goal. If the past month has been an audition for Goncalo Ramos, Randal Kolo Muani, Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele, then it is not going well for four footballers who cost $200 million dollars, with another $60m due for Ramos over the summer. On the flip side, when Mbappe has been engaged, PSG have prevailed as in the Champions League double-header against Real Sociedad and Wednesday's Coupe de France victory over Nice where the French striker opened the scoring in the 3-1 win.
Relegation-threatened Montpellier will be another test-track challenge for this less than fearsome foursome, whose coach is expecting more bang for the club's buck between now and the end of the season.
Sunday 3:30PM ET - Montpellier vs. PSG - Live on beIN SPORTS
