When a stadium is silent! No supporters or partners, this Saturday evening, in St Symphorien for this meeting of the 12th day of Ligue 2 between FC Metz and FC Sochaux Montbéliard. The match is played behind closed doors, by decision of the LFP disciplinary committee, to sanction the incidents against Guingamp.
Metz back to the wall
After his defeat in Bordeaux last Saturday, FC Metz is now 9 points behind the Girondin leader. To try to make up for this delay, a victory against Sochaux is imperative!
To hope to win the three points, the Garnets will need offensive realism in particular. In the last three league games, the club at the Croix de Lorraine has scored only one small goal.
For this meeting, the defender, Kiki Kouyate is expected to return, having served his three-game suspension.
Ibrahima Niane and Georges Mikautadze are themselves uncertain. The first, victim of a concussion last week must pass additional examinations. The second was hit in an ankle this week in training!
Danley Jean-Jacques (suspended), Youssef Maziz and Marc Aurele Caillard (Wounded) are absent.
Sochaux, it’s hot!
Fourth in Ligue 2, with already seven victories on the clock, the FC Sochaux Montbéliard is only a small point behind the Girondin leader.
Fourth in the championship last season and eliminated in the play-offs, the Cubs lost their coach Omar Daf this summer, who left for Dijon. To replace him, the leaders of the FCSM appealed to Olivier Gueganpassed in particular on the bench of the VAFC.
The Doubiens started their season badly with a draw against Paris FC, then two defeats against Grenoble and Amiens. But since Sochaux has recovered well, signing an impressive series of six victories in seven days.
The best Sochaux individuals are called Ibrahim Sissoko, author of four goals and Tony Mauricio, who has already delivered three assists.
Metz-Sochaux, the poster for the 1988 French Cup final
FC Sochaux is an opponent who does not smile too much at Garnets: all competitions combined, FC Metz lost 53 times against the Doubians.
The last time the two clubs faced off was in March 2019 in Ligue 2 and the score was one-to-one.
In 1988, FC Metz won its second Coupe de France in its history by winning against FCSM after the penalty shootout.