A brief upturn for struggling Sochaux after signing some experienced players in the January window has quickly evaporated and they are back in trouble, in the relegation playoff spot , 2 and 3 points respectively above the bottom 2 and four adrift of the team immediately above them. They are dealing with the difficult Monday-Friday turnaround this week (they are at home in 4 days time) and the first of those, this trip away to league leaders Metz could not be tougher and it is easy to see focus quickly slipping to the upcoming fixture, should they fall behind this evening. Metz can open up a whopping 11 point advantage over the team in third with the win and that would give them one foot and maybe also, a couple of toes, in Ligue 1. Metz have a top flight style budget, only Lens' is bigger and it dwarfs that of most Ligue 2 teams and the quality that enables them to bring to the club has been plain to see.

 

Sochaux are without suspended central defender Olivier Verdon, they are 1-1-4 in his absence, defensive midfielder Jeando Fuchs is injured, they are 1-0-5 when he is missing, failing to score in all five of those defeats (the last 5 he has sat out), two other central defenders in Rafa Paez and Maxence Lacroix remain sidelined and that leaves them very shorthanded in the defensive spine. Only two CB have made the 3 hour road trip North , 20 yo Jean Ruiz who has only played 21 minutes since November and, incredibly, Sochaux have conceded 11 goals in the last 201 minutes he has been on the pitch and Boris Moltenis who is 19 and he has just 109 minutes of first team football in his career.

 

At the other end of the pitch, goals which never exactly flowed ( lowest L2 scorers) have almost totally dried up and they have FTS in 7/8 starts, including their last 4.

 

 

 

Metz : Delecroix, Oukidja – Balliu, Rivierez, Jans, Sunzu, Boye, Delaine – Fofana, Cohade, Angban, Maïga, Boulaya, Nguette, Gakpa – Jallow, Diallo, Niane, Rivière.

 

Sochaux : Prévot, Ati Zigi, Pendant, Moltenis, Navarro, M’Bakata, Rocchia, Ruiz, Owusu, Agoumé, Sissoko, Daham, Sakhi, Bayala, Mollo, Glaentzlin, Etoundi, Sané, Robinet.

 

 

Good Luck.