Extended Highlights - Reims 2-0 Lyon
Oct 1After in-form pair Nice and Auxerre kick off the Ligue 1 weekend on Friday, Paris Saint-Germain will aim to stretch their lead at the top to 11 points - for 24 hours at least - when they host Nantes.
Sunday culminates in a mouthwatering between Rennes and Marseille, and Igor Tudor's men will be hoping that Monaco haven't jumped over them by the time L'OM take to the Roazhon Park pitch.
For the lowdown on the weekend's main storylines, plus information on how you can watch six Ligue 1 games live on BT Sport, read on.
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PSG have Nantes to fear
Last weekend couldn't have gone much better for Paris Saint-Germain, who outclassed Marseille to restore their eight-point lead at the top of Ligue 1 as fellow title challengers Monaco and Lens lost and drew respectively.
It was certainly the Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe show, with the Frenchman streaking into space to smash home the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner's perfect through-ball for the opener.
Mbappe returned the favour with a lovely cross for Messi's 700th club career goal, before a majestic Messi scoop was met with an equally glorious Mbappe volley to round things off at the Stade Velodrome.
The 24-year-old now has 200 goals to his name for PSG - just one behind club record-holder Edinson Cavani - and will no doubt believe he can break the Uruguayan's record at home to Nantes, especially having scored twice against them in the return fixture back in September.
On Monday, both Messi and Mbappe appeared in The Best FIFA Men's World XI for 2022, with the architect of Argentina's World Cup triumph scooping the individual award.
It's back to on-field matters on Saturday though as former PSG head coach Antoine Kombouare brings his side to the Parc des Princes.
Kombouare was in charge for two-and-a-half years in the French capital, but was only able to win the Coupe de France once and lost his job shortly after the influx of Middle Eastern money into the club.
Nantes have largely found the going tough in recent weeks as they were dumped out of the Europa League by Juventus, either side of league losses to Lens and Rennes.
However, the Canaries were certainly chirping on Wednesday after reaching the Coupe de France semi-finals at Lens' expense thanks to two Andy Delort penalties, keeping their trophy defence alive.
Quentin Merlin is the only injury absentee for the side from Pays de la Loire, while Achraf Hakimi could return from a thigh problem for the hosts, with Neymar and Renato Sanches unlikely to feature.
Tudor Igor to turn things around
It's fair to say that the last week has been the most difficult of Igor Tudor's reign at Marseille so far.
After L'OM were comprehensively beaten by Paris Saint-Germain to make a title triumph look increasingly unlikely, they were knocked out of the Coupe de France by second-tier Annecy on Wednesday.
What made that second defeat worse was that Tudor had effectively played a full-strength team, with slack defending, especially from centre-back Leonardo Balerdi, allowing the visitors to quickly turn the game on its head.
Alexis Sanchez then saw a penalty saved, before 18-year-old Francois Mughe scored his first-ever senior goal on 96 minutes with a clever finish from a tight angle to take the game to extra time.
That 30-minute period came and went, and the hosts suffered elimination after initially taking the lead in the penalty shootout, with Balerdi's errant spot-kick ultimately proving the difference, although the 23-year-old is likely to keep his spot at Rennes with Samuel Gigot currently injured.
Bruno Genesio's side backed up their win over Clermont with a 1-0 victory at rivals Nantes, Jeremy Doku netting what proved to be the winner after some brilliant close control.
A win would take the Brittany outfit to within just one point of the top three if Lens and Monaco both lose, while victory for Marseille would see them strengthen their hold on second.
Derby du Nord won't leave you bored
Lens vs Lille is one of France's most fiercely contested derbies, and this season's reverse fixture between the sides was no different as eight yellow cards were dished out, with Jonathan David's 44th-penalty settling matters.
David is enjoying a fairytale season under Paulo Fonseca.
Only Kylian Mbappe has scored more Ligue 1 goals than the Canadian this season, but David drew a blank against Brest last time out as Lille came from a goal down to secure a crucial three points courtesy of headers from Bafode Diakite and Alexsandro.
Lens' previous league outing saw them make the ideal start at Montpellier through Angelo Fulgini's loft over Benjamin Lecomte, only for Faitout Maouassa to capitalise on space in the box to equalise after the break.
Franck Haise's men were unable to make up for the frustration in midweek as they were dumped out of the Coupe de France by holders Nantes after conceding two cheap penalties, all the more disappointing given how open the competition is this year with Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco and now Marseille all out.
Seko Fofana's recent attacking contributions have been a plus point though, with the captain scoring for the first time in three-and-a-half months in that cup defeat, as well as assisting Fulgini at Montpellier.
One win in six has put Lens' title hopes to bed, but they now sit fourth and have a dangerous Rennes side on their heels, while Lille are only two points off fifth and should have veteran defender Jose Fonte back after a knee issue, although Fonseca won't be prowling the touchline at Stade Bollaert-Delelis after receiving a ban for his behaviour against Brest.
Can Monaco brush off not-so-Nice loss?
While Nice are proving an irresistible force under Didier Digard, Monaco will still be disappointed with the way they fell to defeat in the Derby de la Cote d'Azur at Stade Louis II.
Poor defensive awareness saw Terem Moffi ghost in for an early double, while Kephren Thuram had too much time to guide home the visitors' third, although the finish was exquisite.
Luckily for Philippe Clement's men, fellow Champions League challengers Lens remain just below them after dropping points at Montpellier, while Marseille are only two points above Monaco after losing to Paris Saint-Germain.
Les Monegasques will though be buoyed by the fact that upcoming opponents Troyes will be without top scorer Mama Balde, who was dismissed for two bookable offences during the 2-1 loss at Ajaccio.
That defeat means Patrick Kisnorbo's men are 19th and haven't won a game since 2 January, with just one point collected from seven encounters since.
Troyes also have the worst defence in the league. Monaco couldn't wish for a better opportunity to get back on track. Can they grasp it?
Antonetti making a positive impression
Frederic Antonetti has taken four points from a possible six on offer since taking the helm at Strasbourg last month, with the Alsace outfit backing up a vital win over Angers with a further point at mid-table Clermont to move out of the bottom four.
All three goals for Le Racing in those two fixtures have been scored by Habib Diallo, who continues to improve in the blue and white shirt.
Antonetti will be boosted by the return of Jean-Eudes Alohou after the former Monaco midfielder served the last match of his three-game ban against Clermont, while centre-back Gervinho Nyamsi and left-back Thomas Delaine could be back in the squad following hamstring and Achilles injuries respectively.
Brest visit Stade de la Meinau having moved in the opposite direction in the table to their hosts.
Eric Roy made a strong start to life in Brittany after being appointed in January, but three straight defeats have seen the Pirates plunge to 19th, with their latest loss coming at Lille as poor marking led the visitors to concede twice from headers having gone 1-0 up.
To compound matters for Roy, Mahdi Camara, who wasn't even on the pitch, was dismissed following a late melee and will be suspended for two matches, while Brest also have a crippling injury list, although it is hoped that a few bodies will come back for what is undoubtedly a six-pointer.
