Extended Highlights - Brest 1-0 Lyon
Sep 24Paris Saint-Germain's seesaw 4-3 win over Lille last Sunday was a strong contender to be European football's most thrilling match of the season so far, and Marseille will no doubt fancy their chances against the reigning Ligue 1 champions when the two clash at the Stade Velodrome on Sunday evening.
Elsewhere, it's a meeting of the French top-flight's two most in-form sides as Didier Digard's Nice travel to Monaco, while Lens will be looking to capitalise on any slip-up from Philippe Clement's men as the Blood and Gold make the trip to Montpellier.
Read on for the lowdown on those three games and more, plus all you need to know about how you watch SIX Ligue 1 matches this weekend, all exclusively live on BT Sport.
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Marseille eye repeat of cup triumph
While it is Paris Saint-Germain in the driving seat to hold on to their Ligue 1 crown, Marseille can draw inspiration from recent history after they knocked the capital club out of the Coupe de France earlier this month.
Alexis Sanchez and Ruslan Malinovskyi scored for L'OM that day, either side of Sergio Ramos' headed equaliser.
However, Christopher Galtier did not have Kylian Mbappe at his disposal for that contest due to injury, with the 24-year-old speeding upfield barely 10 minutes in and skipping between Tiago Djalo and Bafode Diakite before sliding home against Lille.
Mbappe also produced a neat stabbed finish late on to level 3-3 before Lionel Messi's stoppage-time free-kick heroics, and Galtier will be pleased that his fellow Frenchman is well and truly firing ahead of a crucial period of the campaign that includes a Champions League last-16 second leg at Bayern Munich on 8 March.
Mbappe is unbeaten in 13 previous meetings with Marseille, but despite his return, Igor Tudor's men will no doubt believe strongly that they can hurt PSG again, a feeling that will almost certainly have been reinforced by Lille’s performance at the Parc des Princes.
Everton loanee Andre Gomes wreaked havoc with two pinpoint balls which were finished off by Bafode Diakite and Jonathan Bamba, and the technical quality that Marseille possess across the team will definitely keep Galtier’s men on their toes.
Marseille’s 3-2 victory at Toulouse saw Nuno Tavares rifle in what ultimately proved to be the winner as the Portuguese left wing-back scored his sixth of an impressive campaign so far in the south of France.
The reverse fixture between Les Olympiens and PSG finished 1-0 to the hosts as Mbappe laid on Neymar for the only goal of the encounter.
However, the Brazilian suffered an ankle sprain against Lille and will miss Sunday.
That news is a huge boost for Tudor and his charges, but it could be tempered by the fact that Achraf Hakimi and Marquinhos have a strong chance of returning to the fold after picking up minor hamstring problems.
For Marseille, the absence of defender Samuel Gigot with an ankle sprain of his own isn't ideal, but former Newcastle centre-back Chancel Mbemba is an able deputy and can provide a goal threat, as he demonstrated with a poacher's finish to spark the comeback at Stadium de Toulouse.
Digard's Nice now in top-five discussion
Nice's appointment of Didier Digard last month following the sacking of Lucien Favre has to be one of the most inspired managerial changes of the campaign anywhere in world football.
The French Riviera outfit were marooned in mid-table and had just been dumped out of the Coupe de France by third-tier Le Puy, a loss which convinced the Eagles hierarchy to make the switch.
Digard had been in charge of Nice's B team, but since his promotion to the top job, the team have not looked back, racking up five wins and two draws, including statement victories at Lens and Marseille.
Their goalless draw against Reims last time out - the club's second 0-0 against Will Still's men in 2023 - was a bit of a disappointment, but Nice are now just five points off fifth place, which would see them qualify for the play-off round of next season's Europa Conference League.
The only team that can match Nice's Ligue 1 record in the past five games are Monaco, who earned all three points at relegation-threatened Brest last weekend, although they could be running on fumes this Sunday after being knocked out of the Europa League by Bayer Leverkusen on penalties, squandering a 3-2 lead from the first leg in Germany.
Encouragingly for fans of the principality outfit though, talisman Wissam Ben Yedder has scored 12 goals against Nice, the highest figure for the striker against any opponent.
Can he make it lucky number 13 against Digard's men and inflict a first defeat on the ex-Middlesbrough midfielder in his new post?
Rennes searching for consistency
Rennes head into the Derby Breton at Nantes occupying the fifth and final European spot, but Bruno Genesio's men have won just two of their last five league matches, losing the other three.
Les Rennais currently sit only two points ahead of Lille and need to put a run of victories together to really cement themselves in the Europa Conference League qualification spot - and perhaps allow themselves to set their sights a little higher.
Their last league outing was a 2-0 triumph over Clermont, with Arnaud Kalimuendo netting both the goals to get on the scoresheet for the first time since 11 January.
However, like Monaco, they also crashed of the Europa League via penalties on Thursday as Jeanuel Belocian's cruel 119th-minute own goal forced the shootout against Shakhtar Donetsk, who ultimately prevailed 5-4 from 12 yards.
Genesio has been hit by the absence of last season's top scorer Martin Terrier, who will be out of action for at least the rest of this campaign after tearing his ACL in Rennes' first game of 2023, while the timescales for the returns of right-back Hamari Traore and central midfielder Xeka are still uncertain.
Nantes will be bruised after a comprehensive defeat at the hands of Juventus and hat-trick hero Angel Di Maria in Europe's second-tier competition.
As was the case against the Old Lady, Nantes shipped three in their last league game at Lens having been virtually impregnable in 2023 prior to then, with Florent Mollet's gorgeous effort the only positive from the encounter.
Antoine Kombouare's Canaries were victorious though in the last meeting against Rennes at the Stade de la Beaujoire as captain Nicolas Pallois completed the turnaround to secure a 2-1 victory.
The 35-year-old was sent off against Juve for handball on the goalline, but will be available to face Rennes, 20-year-old forward Quentin Merlin the only absentee for the hosts ahead of Sunday afternoon's clash.
Can Montpellier win three in a row?
Montpellier are yet to string three league wins together this season, but after a perfect start under new boss Michel Der Zakarian with back-to-back victories and clean sheets against Brest and Troyes, they head into their meeting with Champions League-chasing Lens on Saturday night full of confidence.
Wahbi Khazri was the difference maker against Troyes in the 90th minute, but Der Zakarian will have to make do without Teji Savanier against the Blood and Gold after the captain trod on Rony Lopes last time out, although forward Stephy Mavididi may be back in contention following a hamstring tear.
La Paillade now have a bit of breathing space between themselves and the bottom four - seven points to be exact - and will believe that they can go toe-to-toe with a Lens side whose title challenge has fallen away.
That said, Franck Haise's side did register their first league win in five last time out by defeating Nantes 3-1 courtesy of Deiver Machado's stunning opener - backing up his scorcher at Lyon the previous weekend - and a clinical finish from January signing Adrien Thomasson, along with Charles Traore's own goal.
Haise will buoyed that Adam Buksa is nearing a return to action after suffering a foot fracture in November, but fellow forward Alexis Claude-Maurice (meniscus) and midfielder Jimmy Cabot (torn ACL) are still a long way from finishing their recovery.
Battle of the overachievers at Reims
Despite the subplots in Le Classique and the meeting of Monaco and Nice, Reims vs Toulouse is arguably the most intriguing Ligue 1 game of the weekend.
Will Still's Football Manager obsession and rapid rise through the coaching ranks is now well known, and the Belgian-Brit is incredibly still unbeaten after 14 league games at Reims since he took the reins following Oscar Garcia's sacking.
A solid 0-0 draw at high-flying Nice means that Les Rouges et Blancs are still 10th, just two points and a place above Toulouse, who have wowed fans across France with their enterprising attacking style under former Nottingham Forest boss Philippe Montanier.
Such has been their improvement in the last few months that a 3-2 loss at home to Marseille must have felt like a significant disappointment, especially given that they took the lead through prolific summer signing Thijs Dallinga after just a few minutes, with Ado Onaiwu's exquisite late volley proving just a consolation.
Still, aged just 30, has helped nurture the goalscoring instincts of his own striking sensation in Folarin Balogun, who is joint-top scorer in Ligue 1 this season with 15 goals alongside Jonathan David and Kylian Mbappe.
Balogun has scored in both his adopted side's last two home matches, including a hat-trick in a 4-2 victory over Lorient, but Toulouse have recent experience of keeping the Arsenal loanee quiet as Montanier's men emerged 3-1 victors in their Coupe de France last-16 clash earlier this month.
Heading into this fixture, Reims midfielder Marshall Munetsi looks set to return for the hosts after missing the Nice stalemate with a hip injury, while team-mate Emmanuel Agbadou also has a chance of being selected following a hamstring problem.
Other than the long-term absence of English striker Rhys Healey (torn ACL), Montanier has a fully fit squad at his disposal.
Neither Reims nor Toulouse will reach Europe this season, but their eye-catching improvement hints at the possibility of a top-five push in 2023/24.
