The two teams come into the game in very different mood, five weeks ago Evian were eight points clear of the drop with a superior goal difference, heading into the final round needing "something" to survive was a nightmare scenario and it has come about.
 

Sochaux have been heading for Ligue 2 all season, they only had 8 points on board in late December and teams outside the drop zone were probably thinking that was one less team to worry about. However, they regrouped and started not only picking up points for coach Hervé Renard , but performing at a high level. They have served us very well and helped themselves in the process collecting 32 points from the 19 matches since just before the Christmas break. That is exactly half a season and equates to a top 5 finish and would have seen them finish 3-6 points ahead of Lyon. Over the same sequence Evian have collected 21 points, which over a full campaign would have seen them finish, well, exactly where they are now !
 

Football is not as simple as that, but what odds do you think a top five team desperate to win , would be to beat Evian today ? Not close to even money that is for sure !
 

Back to the mood in the respective camps, Sochaux have had their eye on this game for months, with their sole target to get here alive and with matters in their own hands, they are buoyant to have this opportunity, Evian are probably crestfallen.
 

Hosts have yet to let us down, won again for us last week away to Rennes and I have no desire to desert them now. Ahead of that match I reproduced two sets of recent notes, so have done the same this week (at the foot of the email), like a football coach wearing his lucky shirt, or socks, I have no wish to jinx Sochaux ! Also to show you how clever I am !
 

The support for the players has been amazing, the club have adopted a "never give up" slogan , all the early training sessions this week were open to the public and supporters have tried to lift the players through every minute and I expect it to be a charged atmoshere in the stadium this evening. Team news is not important, at least IMO, these games are about so much more, anyway, no new problems, the same 18 who played last week have been named in the squad, along with Carlão, Thierry Doubaï and Pierre-Alain Frau.
 

Evian will come for the point that will preserve their status, they have only scored 11 road goals all season, so you would not expect anything else, but I have to take the hosts who are confident and as far removed from the early season strugglers as it is possible to be, to break them down.
 

1.75 units Sochaux -0.5 ball 1.98 asian line/Ibramarket.
 

 

Sochaux: Pelé, Pouplin - Faussurier, Zouma, Kanté, Marange, Corchia, Sunzu, Carlão - Prcic, Ilaimaharitra, Boukari, Roudet, Contout, Guerbert, Sinkala, Doubaï - Mayuka, Ayew, Bakambu, Frau.

Evian :Jesper Hansen, Bertrand Laquait, Johann Durand, Kassim Abdallah, Cédric Cambon, Youssouf Sabaly, Jonathan Mensah, Cédric Mongongu, Aldo Angoula, Olivier Sorlin, Djakaridja Koné, Eric Tié Bi, Ilan Boccara, Facundo Bertoglio, Cédric Barbosa, Modou Sougou, Daniel Wass, Kévin Bérigaud,Marco Ruben, Nicolas Benezet, Clarck Nsikulu.

Ligue 1 : Reims- Sochaux (written April 20th)

 

Sochaux are another team struggling to beat the drop, they have really upped their game over the last two months and served us well in the process. They have been very lulucky not to have maybe 3-4 more points on board and certainly two from the 1-1 draw with Marseille three weeks ago when I wrote ...This is all about motivation for me, Sochaux have it in spades at present and I am not 100% certain that OM have much at all. We previewed the hosts last home game, where they ran out comfortable 2-0 winners, that is reproduced at the foot of the email. They have subsequently lost 3-1 at St Etienne, but there was much to like about that performance,as there has been about all their outings over the last two months and they are currently performing at mid table level, but with the fight you expect from a team battling to survive. OM are not going to finish top 3 and would doubtless view a Europa League spot as surplus to requirements. I suspect the planning for next season has already started and that motivation for some games, will be hard to come by and more likely to come at home. They will definitely (IMO) not be able to match the hunger of Sochaux today, who have won 7 of the last 10 h2h meetings here, including the last two .
 

They led for what seemed like forever there, before conceding a late equaliser, then went to Bastia and drew 2-2 and last time out eased past Toulouse 2-0 in a fairly effortless win. They will travel today in confident mood and I feel that a Reims team who have not won in six, kept a clean sheet in eight, have little to play for and are short of options defensively,  are fairly ideal opponents. There should definitely be a goal or two in this for Sochaux and Rennes have conceded an average of 1.57 goals at home in 2014. Hosts are without captain and central defender Mickaël Tacalfred (31-0-0) and left back Franck Signorino (22-1-1.......conceded eight goals in the last three he has missed).
 

I will take the level ball quote, as the draw does have a little more value for Sochaux than Valenciennes, being a point nearer safety and odds largely dictating that is how we have to lean anyway,  but do not feel they will come with one point in mind. The 2.75 for the visitors to score twice looks generous if you can bet it, but I and many others cannot, so 1.75 units Sochaux level ball 2.20 asian line/Ibramarket.

 

Reims: Agassa, Placide – Weber, Conte, Mandi, Turan, MFulu – Albaek, Oniangue, Diego, Fortes, Devaux, Krychowiak, Ayite – Atar, De Preville, Charbonnier, Courtet.

 

Sochaux: .Pelé, Pouplin – Faussurier, Carlão, L.Zouma, C.Kanté, Marange, Corchia, Sunzu – Prcic, Ilaimaharitra, Contout, Sinkala, Boukari, Roudet, Guerbert – J.Ayew, Mayuka, Bakambu

Sochaux- Lorient  (written March 15th)

 

Last week we discussed Sochaux's difficult trip to highflying Monaco ....

 

Very briefly, I like both to score here and feel it is over priced at circa 2.25. The pair shared four goals in the reverse fixture and Sochaux are in far better goalscoring form now and making a good fist, albeit late in the day, of trying to preserve their top flight status. They have five goals and seven points from their last three games and I do not view them as a forlorn hope tonight at around 12-1 and I might risk something small on them. Monaco have hung onto PSG's coattails and all credit to them for that, but the title race looks over now and they are not playing at their best currently.

Last week we discussed Sochaux's home win over Bordeaux ....

"Sochaux have at long last found a little form, winning their last two home games and getting a valuable 2-2 draw ( at least for us) at Valenciennes last week. They had previously beaten Guingamp 1-0 ahead of which I wrote .....

"This is all about motivation for me, Sochaux gave themselves a bit of a survival lifeline with that very hard fought win over Nantes two weeks ago, they could not follow up at Lille last week in a 2-0 defeat, but few expected them to and if they are to survive, it will by virtue of winning home games, anything gained on the road against quality opposition, a bonus. The goals there came 90 minutes apart, new keeper Yohann Pelé had to pick the ball out of his net after just three minutes, but did not do so again until deep in injury time, he played well and the team stayed competitive, they hardly deserved a point, but came close to getting one twice after the break, spirit was good and this is not a team who have given up hope just yet. However, the match today and trip to Valenciennes next weekend are going to largely decide their fate, they need a minimum four points and the win will certainly be easier this evening. Guingamp have had a pleasing return to top flight football, but are far from safe five points above the drop zone and are one of the very few clubs that Sochaux can realistically hope to catch. To which end, I would argue that this is the home team's cup final and a must win fixture. The visitors played a cup game against low level opposition in Corsica just three days ago, they treated the game seriously, nine of the starters from the last league game played and after the long trip south, now have to travel over 900 km West to the Swiss border. That is a gruelling schedule, whilst Sochaux have had a free seven days to fully focus on this fixture. No real analysis, they have shown a little fight and again, this is all about motivation, both teams have it to a degree, but for Sochaux lose and they can start planning to play Creteil instead of PSG next season. Odds are decent and they will leave nothing on the pitch, where incidentally it will be just above freezing and feel colder, which will be a bit of a shock to the system for the visitors after a midweek trip to balmy L'Ile -Rousse."

They are still eight points from safety and their next two road games are at Monaco and St Etienne, so hard to see how they will get out of trouble if they do not collect maximum points tonight."

Monaco conceded two to Reims in their last home game and again at St Etienne last week and are without veteran defender Éric Abidal (24-0-0) today and significantly one the three matches he has missed this season ( just one win), was that reverse fixture which ended 2-2. I have seen 7.5 for Sochaux to score twice and that is my kind of price for something that happened in Monaco's last home start and in the reverse fixture, but officially I will opt for 1.5 units both teams to score 2.20-2.25 general quote, bigger in a place or two.

 

That ended 2-1 , OK for us, but Sochaux were unfortunate IMO not to have at least scored twice, they hit the woodwork and had quite a few attempts on goal. They got incredibly frustrated, with striker Jordan Ayew getting a needless red card, he will be suspended today and will be missed, although he has only contributed one goal since his loan move from Marseille. Left winger Sébastien Roudet (20-0-3) is also banned, but at this stage of the season and in Sochaux's position, I am less concerned with team news, more with  motivation and desire and the hosts have plenty of each, sitting eight points shy of survival and fighting for their lives.

Lorient won for the first time in seven starts at home to St Etienne last week, that put them in midtable safety and their very strong home form, will be enough to ensure another season of top flight football. They are not the best of travellers and have lost 17 of their last 25 Ligue 1 away starts, they have not won here in eight visits and arrive without left winger Maxime Barthelmé (13-1-1), fringe striker Gilles Sunu and most imprtantly, left back Raphaël Guerreiro (26-0-1) and top scorer Vincent Aboubakar (28-12-6). That leaves them weakened on the left flank and Aboubakar has scored or assisted in 9 of Lorient's ten wins this season, in their sole three road wins, he has scored four goals and assisted with another. A massive game for Sochaux, especially with the two teams immediately above them meeting each other (they cannot both win !) . 1.75 units Sochaux -0.25 ball 2.31 asian line/Ibramarket.

Sochaux : Pelé, Cros - Faussurier, Carlão, Zouma, Marange, Corchia, Kanté, Sunzu - Contout, Malsa, Doubaï, Prcic, Ilaimaharitra, Sinkala, Boukari - Bakambu, Butin, Mayuka, Frau.
 

 

Lorient : Fabien Audard, Florent Chaigneau - Lamine Koné, Pedrinho, Bruno Ecuele Manga, Maxime Baca, Wesley Lautoa, Lamine Gassama - Grégory Bourillon, Sadio Diallo, Yann Jouffre, Raffidine Abdullah, Enzo Reale, Mathieu Coutadeur, Alain Traoré, Kévin Monnet-Paquet, Cheick Doukouré - Jérémie Aliadière, Fabien Robert.