Matchday 9: Five Things to Look Out For

After a busy round of European action, Ligue 1 McDonald's is back for Matchday 9 -- join us for a look ahead at the weekend's action.

Marseille look to avoid Lens speed bump

Marseille's summer buying spree has done much to give Roberto de Zerbi's squad -- perilously thin last season -- more depth. But that depth will be tested in the current run of fixtures, with three straight midweek matches across both the Champions League and Ligue 1. De Zerbi did do some rotation against Sporting Club in the week, leaving out Matt O'RIley and Angel Gomes, but the sending off of Emerson in that match will have surely taxed all involved. Now, the leaders face a tough trip to a Lens side who have been the surprise package of the season, led by a veteran in Florian Thauvin who may be looking to exact revenge against his former side.

Lille's rotation to keep them in the top four hunt?

In also rotating his squad for Europe, LOSC manager Bruno Génésio made a strong statement that even with key injuries, he will look to continue to focus on the league. Resting all of Ayyoub Bouaddi, Olivier Giroud, Thomas Meunier and Hákon Harlaldsson was a bold move, but in losing to PAOK, it will have to pay off Sunday afternoon against Metz as Les Dogues look to stay within touching distance of the top four.

Coach Pocognoli 👔 pic.twitter.com/gDLJ5PGVDG
— AS Monaco EN 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco_EN) October 23, 2025

Can Pocognoli build with Monaco?

Only two points off third in the league, the start to the season has hardly been disastrous for Monaco given the amount of injuries they've needed to manage, but in dismissing Adi Hütter for young Sébastien Pocognoli, they made a massive leap of faith. A dim draw against Angers last weekend was hardly an ideal result, but against a full-strength Tottenham Hotspur, his side was enterprising in both keeping a clean sheet and creating chances. More of those will need to be taken if the Principality side are to return to Europe's premier competition, and a home match against a well-organized Toulouse will provide a fine litmus test for the young Belgian's methods.

Beye under pressure?

Ahead of Habib Beye's hiring last season, the former Senegal international was seen as a rising star for his work at Red Star in Ligue 2. After some twenty matches in charge of Stade Rennais, however, the mask seems to have slipped, with the Bretons picking up just one win this season. Draws against the likes of Auxerre, Angers, Nantes and Le Havre have been particularly damning, especially given the club's summer outlay. At home against a Nice side who are coming off of a European fixture and have a rash of injuries, Rennes should have the advantage, but anything less than a win could make Beye the division's most under-pressure manager.

Strasbourg to get back to winning ways?

This thriller of match last season (a 4-3 home win) was a real statement of intent by Liam Rosenior's young side, and they've built on that in the 14 months since, but to truly be contenders, his team will have to refocus on putting matches to bed, having dropped five points from winning positions in their last three league matches.

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