Paris (AFP)

Ligue 1 resumed Friday in Brittany with a clash between Marseille and Rennes, 2nd and 3rd in a Championship dominated head and shoulders by Paris SG, host Sunday of AS Monaco by Robert Moreno.

The meeting at Roazhon Park should make sparks between the team of Julien Stéphan, in search of a sixth victory in a row in L1, and the Marseillais of the tactician André Villas-Boas who pocketed 22 points on 24 at the end of 'last year.

The Bretons, led by their young talent Eduardo Camavinga, are only five points from their direct competitor and they are one game late, which they will play in Nîmes next Wednesday.

The premises will be full and Marseille can almost say the same, with the return of its goalkeeper and captain Steve Mandanda, unavailable since mid-December. The only Olympian absence, in addition to that of the seriously injured Florian Thauvin, concerns the Japanese side Hiroki Sakai, suspended.

"We are on a good dynamic and confidence reigns in the group, says Olympian Valentin Rongier. We must not lose that, regardless of the outcome of the match this weekend and the next matches."

- Scent of "remontada" -

Still in the West, but further south, Bordeaux will host Lyon on Saturday for a poster of big names with thwarted ambitions. The two historic clubs of the French Championship stagnate in the second half of the ranking with 26 points each, seven lengths from the podium.

The Girondins want to regain momentum, after three losses in a row in L1, against Lyonnais unbeaten from four matches in all competitions.

Among the top teams, Lille (4th) and Nantes (5th) will travel to Dijon and Saint-Etienne respectively on Sunday.

In the evening, PSG with its fireworks Neymar and Kylian Mbappé will close the ball of the 20th day by the reception of Monaco, returned to 7th place after a failed start to the season.

It will be the first big test for Robert Moreno, whose baptism on the Monaco bench proved conclusive against Reims (2-1) on Saturday in the Coupe de France.

The Spanish coach knows a little bit about PSG. In March 2017, he officiated as assistant to Luis Enrique on the occasion of the famous "Ascension" (6-1 after a 4-0 defeat on the outward leg) of Barça against the French club in the Champions League.

Program for the 20th day of the L1 Championship:

Friday :

(8:45 p.m.) Rennes - Marseille

Saturday :

(5.30 p.m.) Bordeaux - Lyon

(8:00 p.m.) Amiens - Montpellier

Angers - Nice

Toulouse - Brest

Nîmes - Reims

Metz - Strasbourg

Sunday :

(3:00 p.m.) Saint-Etienne - Nantes

(5:00 p.m.) Dijon - Lille

(9:00 p.m.) Paris SG - Monaco

© 2020 AFP