FRANCE .............. LIGUE 2

TROYES - BOULOGNE

The truth of the matter is that Troyes simply threw away promotion last season, in very late March they were third in the table, eight points clear of their nearest challenger for the final promotion spot and then imploded, eventually finishing six points off the pace. It was always likely that they would suffer a hangover from that blow this time round and they started the campaign very poorly, losing five of their first seven starts.

However, a six match unbeaten run has more than steadied the ship and the signs are clearly there, that the mental scars are healing. There has never really been too much wrong with the squad and although we have yet to see it, their strike force remains, at least on paper, one of the most potent in Ligue 2, with a handful of proven goalscorers.

For tonight, they have named a very attack minded squad and will obviously look for the win that would take them into the top half of the table, from which they could launch a second half of the season, promotion push.

Boulogne have surprised everyone this season and have over achieved big time, with limited resources and basically the same squad which struggled last year. They are finding goals hard to come by, but are very tight at the back, it was exactly the opposite last term and is hard to understand the exact reasons why things have changed, but credit must go to their coaching staff. I still cannot take them seriously as promotion candidates and would be surprised if these two did not swap league positions sooner, rather than later. This is a big game for Troyes and in front of the television cameras, it will give them an opportunity to re-establish their reputation, I expect a very motivated performance and a home win.

Goal : Cyrille Merville, Quentin Westberg
Defence : Ismaël Bouzid, Stéphen Drouin, Ibrahima Faye, Auriol Guillaume, Gaël Sanz
Midfield : Eloge Enza-Yamissi, Julien Faussurier, Fabrice Fiorèse, Benoît Lesoimier, Fabrice N’Sakala, Ousmane Sarr
Attack : Grégory Bettiol, Titi Buengo, Yahia Kébé, Jérôme Lafourcade

5.5 points Troyes -1/4 ball 2.098 asian line.

Good Luck.