Les Bleus and Blanc going witha 4-4-2

No surprise,  Blanc will align a 4-4-2, after announcing that Hourau would be a starter I could not really see him lining up as the lone striker. After his match against Ukraine, Gameiro was given another chance to start this time with a strike partner - Hourau.

The midfield is no surprise with Diarra (I am a bit surprised to see the Bordeaux man back in the starting XI but he did not play against Ukraine so makes sense), Martin, Valbuena and N'Zogbia. Look for N'Zogbia to hold the wide flank on the left with Valbuena doing the same on the right. Martin, after his 15 minutes of insanity, will be given an expected start and will be expected to pull the strings in the midfield. This will place some pressure on Diarra since he is the single "guard" in front of the back 4. Speaking of the back 4, no surprises, except for Sakho sitting and Abidal in central defense. How ironic when that is the exact role he did not want to play under Domenech. Granted Abidal has slotted there for Barcelona when Pujol was injured. With Rami suspended against Albania when the qualifiers start up again, and Mexes coming off injury, Blanc is clearly getting ready for having to leverage Abidal and his experience in central defense.
I see this game being another trial run for Blanc in preparation for the Albania match in September.

Prediction: France 3 – Poland 1, goals from Hourau, Valbuena and Gameiro

Allez les Bleus

France v Poland: Welcome to some new faces

No surprise, but Laurent Blanc announced that the players he has not used over the past 2 matches will start for the final friendly before the summer break: Carrasso in goal, N'Zogbia and Valbuena in midfield and Hourau at striker. Question remains who else will start and what formation with Blanc look to leverage?

I have a feeling he will lean on a 4-4-2 or a 4-2-3-1. I am not sure he wants to have Hourau as the lone striker so look for the former to be employed. N'Zogbia wide left with Valbuena on the right, the central midfield I could see Martin coupled with Matuidi, M'Vila or maybe even Cabaye. The front two will be Hourau and Gameiro, with the defense similar to the last match. Get Sakho another run out in the center of defense with Kaboul as his partner. Reveillere and Evra holding the wide roles. Finally Carrasso in goal. A more offensive leaning formation, which will place an increased amount of pressure on whomever is the holding midfielder.

It will be interesting to see how Martin does after his coming out party against Ukraine. Let us hope he can build upon his showing.

Allez les Bleus.

Blanc moving towards a 4-4-2: Menez on the right?

Without the services of his 3 "natural" play-makers - Gourcuff, Ribery and Nasri - it would appear that Blanc is moving towards leveraging a normal 4-4-2 with a flat middle 4. Opposed to the 4-4-2 diamond that was leveraged during the Norway game where M'Vila sat at the base of the diamond as the solo holding midfielder and Nasri at the top of the diamond as the play-maker. 

Blanc will apparently lean on his wide players to carry the play making role, with Malouda on the left and Menez potentially on the right. The other option for the right would be Valbuena. Remains to be seen how Blanc goes with the

right side of the midfield. ADiarra and Diaby will hold the middle 2 slots in the midfield providing cover for the back 4,  wonder if M'Vila will slot in rather than Diarra? Up front, it appears that Hourau and Remy will once again get the nod to start, partially due to Benzema picking up a knock and I am sure Blanc wants to see the tandem on the pitch again.

Finally the back will have the same center back partnership (Mexes - Rami) with the return of World Cup players on the wings and in goal: Sagna, Clichy and Lloris.

It will be interesting to see if the two wide midfielders can carry on the play making for France. The formation might make Clichy and Sagna less free to push high up the pitch. With a striker like Hourau the crosses from the wings will be crucial to unlocking the opposition allowing Remy to play off his position. If Malouda and Menez can carry the game and allow the wide channels to be opened at appropriate times permitting the fullbacks to push higher and send in crosses, this might create the necessary offensive push to bag a few goals.

Probably line up:
Lloris - Sagna, Rami, Mexès, Clichy - A. Diarra, Diaby - Ménez, Malouda - Rémy, Hoarau.

Hourau gets his call up

Latest from Domenech, he has decided to call up the tall PSG striker Hourau to join Les Bleus for the next round of World Cup qualifiers. With Anelka declaring forfiet, one of the top strikers in Ligue 1 gets his chance. Question becomes, if and how will he be used during the two game series. As I have stated in prior postings, I am not sure if he fits into the grand scheme of Les Bleus. Can Hourau be the lone striker on top of the 4-2-3-1 formation? To me Hourau resembles more the style that is Trezeguet or Gomis, a big striker who acts as a "pivot," the ball going through the player acting as a distribution point for wingers and other players filling the channels. That is not how Domenech views his strikers. Domenech appears to want strikers such as Briand, Henry, Benzema, Anelka, etc that can operate alone up front, also drift deeper to pick up the ball and can take on defenders. Just not sure Hourau has these skills in his tool kit.

A deserved call up, but not sure a true fit in this team.

PSG's lost opportunity...sigh

Ok I have finally recovered...sort of....from a difficult sport watching weekend. France got trounced by England in the six nations tourney, the Bruins got mauled by the Penguins, and of course PSG lost to hated rival Marseilles. Well at least Arsenal won and Manchester United lost, then again that might too little too late...ok so lets try to revisit the PSG game.

The Good:

• Both teams looked to carry the game to the other, both teams allowed their offenses to attack. Guily and Hourau looked good as the up front tandem for PSG with Luyindula and Rothen roaming the flanks. The defense looked fairly solid, until they lost Camara to a red card. Marseilles' Zenden looked a completely different player and Brandao looked dangerous up front, the first goal being a great piece of work between both players.
• The fans appeared fairly restrained. This derby match usual leads to numerous arrests, violence, and overall fan mayhem. This match seemed to be much more tame, which is good for the security in Paris.
• The keepers, both Landreau and Mandanda are at the top of their games and both played well. Granted Landreau gave up 3 goals, but none were his fault they were all superbly taken chances by OM. Mandanda looked solid and showed more confidence in taking on the balls lobbed into the penalty area. What pains me, is that based on this showing, and more importantly his season so far, it is clear that Landreau should still be in the mix for France's #1 slot, too bad Domenech is a bit clueless when it comes to managing his keepers.

The Bad:

• Giving up 3 goals...ugh....how can that be anything but bad!!!
  
• Missed opportunity for PSG, with Lyon losing at home to Auxerre, Paris had a great opportunity to at least draw even with the leaders in France. With a win, PSG would have been 2 points clear of Lyon and leader of Ligue 1. What a lost opportunity. First of all, there was no need for additional motivation for PSG in this game, anytime PSG plays OM there is no need for either team to be motivated to play hard. But what really kills me is that PSG had a fantastic chance to take the lead of the title chase...this from a team that was battling relegation last season. Granted Marseilles was also highly motivated, with a win they would draw even with PSG in second place, and 1 point behind Lyon. Additionally they would want to avenge the 4-2 loss at the velodrome.

The Ugly:

• Missing Sessegnon, it was clear that the one element that Paris missed was their talented #10. Sessegnon has become the intrigal part of PSG, controlling the center of the park being supported by Makelele, Chantome and Clement with the above mentioned on the flanks. Without the Benin international, PSG was not able to control the middle of the pitch as well as the pace of the game well enough to slow down the Marseilles counters. For PSG to have a real chance to win the Ligue 1 title, Sessegnon will need to stay out of suspension trouble and stay on the pitch. The next few weeks will be crucial, leading up to the April 25th match at Gerland against Lyon. Sessegnon will be vital in allowing the PSG offense to continue to click.

This was not a devastating lose for PSG. They remain 1 point behind Lyon and still have a match against the leader. The upcoming stretch will be crucial - Toulouse, Nice, Lille, Le Havre and then Lyon. Other than Le Havre, all these teams are in the top half of the table. Marseilles and Lyon have an easier stretch but their final part of the season is brutal, including a head to head between OM and OL. If PSG can be in first place by the last month of the season, they stand a good chance to some how winning the title. Not bad for a team that seemed destined for Ligue 2 last season.

Some low lights of the game....from a PSG's fans perspective -

Well well well...look who is challenging in France

My my my how much can change in one year. Last year I was convinced that PSG was destined to be relegated, I actually thought it might be a good thing for the Parisian club. The kick in the butt they needed to start overhauling the club. Of course, once again I was proven wrong. PSG is now only 4 points off the top of the table and have just taken out a solid option for the next round of the UEFA Cup defeating Wolfsburg 2-0 at the Parc des Prince. So can we expect PSG to really be the challenger for the Ligue 1 title, knock Lyon off their pedestal?

Looking ahead, PSG's season will really hinge on a stretch between March 15 and May 2, during that span they will face Marseilles, Lyon, Toulouse, Nice, Rennes and LOSC - the top 10 teams of the league. This span will challenge Le Guen and his ability to manage his players. With older players - Guily and Makelele - how will Le Guen ensure that he keeps his team competitive and not burn out his veterans. Also, will Rothen come back to form? His crosses against Wolfsburg appear promising, resulting in the first Hourau goal. But I question his ability to maintain this level of play. What is promising is the infusion of some of the youth - Sakho (who has been a mainstay for over a year) and Makonda - being two teenagers that Le Guen has leveraged. The other main issue will be if Sessegnon, Chantome, Clement, Makelele and the rest can keep up the high level of midfield play. The midfield play has been key to the success for PSG, and has allowed Hourau and Guily to succeed up front.

The next few months will be a huge test for PSG, I am not sure if they have the roster to really challenge Lyon, but I am glad to see Paris contending again rather than being in a relegation battle.

Big games in Europe

So I am sitting in Logan waiting for my flight and figured I would pontificate about this weekend's big footie matches. There are two big games today and I will most likely see neither...ugh but I did DVR them! Ok the first match -

Manchester United vs Chelsea. What really needs to be said about this match. These two clubs have become heated rivals ever since the Russian wealth has showered the Blues with outrageous buying potential and made Chelsea a club on the same level as Manchester United when it comes to contracts and purchase power. ManU have 3 games in hand over league leaders Liverpool, so if they win all three of those matches they will be leading the title chase. However this is game is much more than than. If Chelsea win they will be 1 point off the lead. So both teams will be motivated for the full compliment of points from this match. Both sides should have most of their regulars available for the match so that should not play a part in the outcome. The question will be, can Chelsea's central defense deal with Rooney, Tevez, and Ronaldo? Terry is back after suspension so should be fresh, but that does not take away from the fact the Blues have had a difficult time figuring out who will anchor the middle of the defense. I think without Essien it is even more difficult since more attacks are getting through the midfield when in the past Essien or Makelele would be shutting some of those attacks down. Without this cover the Chelsea back line has been exposed. The trip to Old Trafford is not where you want to be fixing this problem. Manchester United have their own defensive woos, with Ferdianand coming back from injury, so how effective will he be against Drogba and Anelka? I think this match will be a tight match, with both sides afraid to make any mistakes. I think Scolari will bring on Ballack at some point in the second half and that will change the dynamics. Ballack and Lampard will put pressure on the ManU midfield and allow Drogba to spring a late game winner - Chelsea 1 Manchester United 0.

The other big match? PSG vs Bordeaux!!!! In the past this was always a tasty fixture, but for the past seasons PSG has been more concerned about being relegated than in challenging for any silverware, but not this season. PSG won the first fixture, in what proved to be the beginning of PSG's run back up the table. This game would give them an opportunity to leap up to the third spot in France, a remarkable change after their wooful past few seasons. It will be interesting to see how PSG and Bordeaux come out of the break. PSG was clicking with Hourau starting to pile up the goals and Landreau recapturing his form. However it is bitterly cold in France and Hourau, who is from the warm waters of the Reuion has admitted that is it the cold that is his biggest enemy. Will this latest freeze impact the big man? There have already been 3 games postponed due to the weather. As he goes so does PSG. The question on the other side is how will PSG handle what is turning out to be a solid midfield combo of Gourcuff and Diarra. Both French internationals are really finding their games this season, it will be interesting if PSG employs Makelele to try and slow down this midfield and how Chantome and Sessegnon work against Diarra. I think that PSG have some good mojo going, and will find a way to beat Les Girodins once again 2-0, goals from Sessessgnon and Guily.

Should a good pair of games, too bad work is making me miss the matches live!