It’s an ogre who comes to Stade Bonal on Tuesday. For the 34th day of Ligue 2, the FCSM receives the leader of the championship, who can also be promoted in the event of victory. But the stakes are just as important for Sochaux, always in search of a climb.
“Zero Pressure”
The FCSM signed Saturday in Nîmes a fourth victory in a row, the best way to receive the cador of the championship. The Sochaliens have matured in recent weeks, and this victory in the Gard showed it. A dynamic that allows them to remain well placed in the race for the best possible places for the climb, even if the Yellow and Blue have not taken off from their fifth place.
The importance of this meeting with the leader is as much mathematical as psychological. A victory, and Sochaux would strike a blow. However, there is no question of being fooled by the challenge for coach Omar Daf: “There is zero pressure, because we are already beyond our goals for the start of the season. It takes determination: we have it. We need ambitions: we have them too. But the actions are always on the ground, we must not talk too much before.“
Same feeling for the players: the work done is already good, it can just be better. “Even a poor performance will not undermine what has been done so far” tempers the lateral Valentin Henry. “We are a reliable team, we have proven ourselves. We have what it takes to fight.”
We can see that today, nothing scares us anymore. We’re here to enjoy until the end, and claim the place that will be due to us. We are hungry, we keep moving forward, and we have great matches ahead of us – Valentin Henry
To attempt this feat, the Sochaliens can count on a well-filled Bonal stadium. The attendance record for the season (12,067 against Ajaccio) should be beaten: this Monday evening at 8 p.m., the club announced that it had already sold 12,000 seats.
With Weissbeck and Aaneba?
The FCSM could find two executive players against Toulouse. Packages in Nîmes, defender Ismaïl Aaneba and midfielder Gaëtan Weissbeck are in the group. But the two remain uncertain for this meeting. Omar Daf has also announced a group of 20 players.
Toulouse, all fire, all flame
Facing the Sochaliens, it is a historic team that will stand up on Tuesday evening. The TFC has already beaten – with five rounds remaining! – the record for the number of goals scored in a Ligue 2 season (single pool), in scoring 77 times.
The Violets have an even better series than the FCSM, with five wins in a row. In the last 11 games, they have bagged 10 successes, scoring goals at all costs. The TFC scored 32 goals in these 11 games: for comparison, Sochaux scored 41 throughout the season, Ajaccio, 32.
Figures that make you dizzy, exceptional individuals (Van den Boomen, Healey at the head of the gondola, 19 assists for the first, 20 goals for the second), added to a huge stake for the Toulouse people. In case of victory at Bonal, they can be officially promoted, if at the same time Auxerre and Paris FC do not win.
The second part of this condition would of course suit the Sochaliens, who cross their fingers for a faux pas from their direct competitors. Ajaccio (2nd) receives Dunkirk (19th), Auxerre (3rd) welcomes Dijon (11th), and Paris FC (4th) faces Caen (7th).