Nantes can reinvigorate Europa League race with victory over Bordeaux
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The Ligue 1 title race is proving to be the most exciting finish in a number of years, with Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain and OGC Nice all still in the running to clinch the top spot with just six games left to play in the 2016/17 campaign.
Given the huge gap between third and fourth, you would expect the current top three to clinch the Champions League spots. However, that isn’t the only exciting ending to look forward to, as finishing in fourth or fifth will earn the two teams a place in the Europa League. Right now, Olympique Lyon and Girondins de Bordeaux are in the lead, but that could all change over the coming weeks, with at least seven teams still in the running for the two positions.
One of those teams is FC Nantes, who currently occupy eighth place with 42 points from 32 matches. Their current haul leaves them seven points adrift of 5th placed Bordeaux, but that deficit could be cut to four, should Sérgio Conceição’s side secure a win this weekend.
Bordeaux will travel to Nantes’ Stade de la Beaujoire on Sunday, with kick-off set for 2 PM. While Bordeaux enter the game with a higher points tally, the prospect of facing Nantes at their own home will be a worrying one for manager Jocelyn Gourvennec. The Bordeaux boss has watched his side suffer back-to-back 2-1 defeats away from home in recent weeks, as the fixture list handed them the difficult task of facing Monaco and Nice in quick succession. Of course, the club was always expected to struggle against two of the league’s best sides, but they will be confident of getting their away record back on track on Sunday.
However, they will still need to be at their best to come away with a win against a Nantes side that are proving remarkably hard to beat in recent months. They were positioned in the relegation zone heading into the New Year, but they have put together a remarkable run of form over the last four months. Despite an inconsistent start, the club have now lost just one of their last nine matches and have the Europa League, rather than relegation, in their sights.
Conceição side have been fantastic at grinding out draws, having recently secured points against Saint-Etienne and Nice. However, Bordeaux will know that they need more than a single point if they are to hold off Marseille, who are just one point away from climbing above them.
With Marseille set to face St-Etienne on Sunday evening (another side in the running for Europa League football), Bordeaux will be hoping that that match ends in a draw, which will relieve some of the pressure on them. However, with games against both of those sides still to come, there is no room for dropped points at any stage over what looks to be an nail-biting final month of French football.
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