At the end of a generally convincing month of November, LOSC hopes to conclude a very good year 2024 in apotheosisboth in the championship and in the Champions League. Presentation.
Brest, hitting a double-faced C1 club
Brest may well be the pride of France in the Champions League, with an astonishing 11th place and a sensational discovery of the competition, the reality of the weekend is much less rosy for Pirates who are unable to reconcile as well as the LOSC this overloaded schedule. SB29 is eleventh in Ligue 1, only three points ahead of the play-off, and its victory this weekend against Strasbourg (3-1) did it a world of good after three consecutive losses in the league. Enough to give yourself some fresh air and a little confidence before a perilous trip to Lille, where Bruno Genesio's men will have the label of favorites.
Sturm Graz, with fond memories of the Conference League
Last March, LOSC and Sturm Graz crossed swords in the round of 16 of the Conference League in a double confrontation which turned calmly in favor of the Lille club (4-1 on aggregate). Since then, the Austrian club has won a second consecutive Austrian championship title at Red Bull Salzburg but also lost its architect Christian Ilzer, coach who left for Hoffenheim, to find himself nine months later on the biggest European stage with LOSC . When the Mastiffs have their sights set on the top 8, the Austrians can hardly hope for a top 24. For what is undoubtedly the most affordable meeting of the eight meetings of the league phase, no misstep will be forgiven in the northern club.
Marseille, the shift towards the podium
This weekend, LOSC had the opportunity to come close to the podium occupied by Paris, Monaco and Marseille. Instead, he let points slip away in Montpellier before OM pulled off the big blow against Monaco. Enough to reinforce the stakes around the trip to Marseille for the Mastiffs who will hardly have the right if they want to claim the podium, directly qualifying for the Champions League. Better armed individually, the Marseille club also has the advantage of not playing a European Cup in the middle of the week and of keeping all its strength for Ligue 1, and it seems to be gaining momentum as the start of Roberto De Zerbi's adventure was not always conclusive. A negative result for LOSC could allow Marseille to fly away in December.
Rouen, entry into contention against Ichem Ferrah
Chance sometimes does things well, and the draw for the 32nd finals of the Coupe de France put Ichem Ferrah on the road to LOSC. Loaned to Rouen, the 19-year-old attacking midfielder could therefore face his training club, unless a non-confrontation clause was included in his contract – which seems unlikely given the gap of two divisions between the two teams. The Mastiffs, who have not won the competition since 2011, are making it a real objective and this fairly lenient draw should not offer any unpleasant surprises. Last season, Paulo Fonseca's men crushed the Réunionnais of Golden Lion (12-0, R1) for their entry into contention before being put in more difficulty on the lawn of the Racing Club de France (1-0, N2 at the time).
The LOSC calendar:
December 1: Montpellier (E) (1-1)
December 6: Brest (D)
December 11: Sturm Graz (D)
December 14: Marseille (E)
December 20: Rouen (E)
Photo credits: Baptiste Fernandez/Icon Sport
