French league football returns this weekend from their winter break and the first game is a table-topping clash. After surviving relegation last season in the last game with an injury time goal, Boulogne started this season in fine form. With just one loss in their first 13 games, they were the most unlikely of promotion candidates. Apart from Angers, who beat them 3:2, at home Boulogne's opponents so far have all been from the bottom half of the table which could explain their high league position.

LENS have been in the top 3 all season and are now 4 points clear from Strasbourg at the top. They look certs to go straight back to Ligue 1 after their surprise relegation. They have the best away form in the league with 5 wins from 8 games.


Good Luck!

HUDDERSFIELD's league form has picked up since Stan Ternent's departure in November and they have won 9 of their last 11 games and have climbed the table nicely. The loss at Carlisle was apparently just a blip as last week they beat promotion chasing Scunthorpe 2:0. Today the Terriers host another promotion hopeful in Oldham. Since arriving, new manager Lee Clark has won all his home games and has no new injury worries ahead of this game.

Oldham are also in decent form. While being unbeaten now in 8 games, they have been far from convincing drawing 4 of the last 5. They had most of the play in last week's 0:0 draw with Carlisle but failed to take their chances. Top scorer Lee Hughes failed to convert 3 or 4 good opportunities. He will find it just difficult against the mean Huddersfield defence.

Both teams have good recent records, however, The Galpharm Stadium is not an easy place for away teams to go to and oldham will struggle to get anything there against a rejuvenated Huddersfield team.


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After winning promotion, Hull's direct style of play saw them take victories away against Newcastle, Arsenal and Tottenham. However, teams have now worked them out and they have only 1 win in the last 10 games. They now have the worst defensive record in the league, conceding 36 goals, 11 of which have been in the last 3 games. On Boxing Day they were 4:0 down at half-time and manager Phil Brown held his team talk on the pitch hoping to bash some egos. They eventually lost 5:1 to Man City. Their home record is the third worst and its only their away form which has been keeping them in the top half of the table.
ASTON VILLA are currently fifth but only on goal difference. A win here would see them go above Arsenal. They have won their last 3 away games at Arsenal, Everton and West Ham and are currently unbeaten in last 7 games. Jon Carew is still out with his back injury.

Villa are playing well at the moment and pushing for a Champions League place. Hull have been in a slump for a few weeks now and anything around evens for the away side is a fair price.


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LEICESTER are now unbeaten in their last 8 games and have only lost 2 all season. They are now clear at the top of the league and are clearly the best team. Last week they ended Peterborough's 16 game unbeaten run, comfortably winning 4:0.

Leeds have now lost their last 4 games and last weekend sacked the manager Gary McAllister. Ex-Blackpool boss Simon Grayson has now taken over and in his first match faces one of his former clubs. Jermaine Beckford could return to the team which is a big plus but he is unlikely to be match fit and might just be a sub.

Both are big names teams who now languish in the lower leagues but Leicester look the most likely to make the quick return to the Championship. The price for Leicester would appear to be skewed because of the recent managerial change but this hasn't made Leicester a bad team, they still have the beating of Leeds.


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New HUDDERSFIELD manager Lee Clark had the best start last week when his team beat Hereford. The Terriers had been without a manager since Stan Ternent left at the start of November. Bizarrely since then they have won 4 of their 5 games under the caretaker manager. They are now getting the ball down and passing it around with confidence.

Carlisle had a pretty good start, leading the table after 5 games, however since then have won just 2 of their last 16 and are flirting with relegation. They also have a new manager in Greg abbott but he has yet to see a win in his 3 games in charge

Huddersfield are on the up since Ternent left and look the more confident and better team.


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AC Ajaccio are not in good form. After being hammered last week in the Corsican derby, they now have just 1 win from the last 10 games and have dropped from promotion contenders into relegation candidates. They have had a few injury problems and Pasqualetti is looking to strengthen the squad before the next game in January. Only Nimes have a poorer record over the past 2 months and they will be eager to go into the break to regroup and rest.

MONTPELLIER had a great win last week away at league leaders Lens and will look to go into the break with another win. In the past they have struggled in front of goal but this season they are the leagues leading scorers. This coupled with their tight defence has pushed them in the promotion race. They are unbeaten in 5 games now and should be full of confidence ahead of this game.

Montpellier have already beaten ACA in the cup this season (2:4 a.e.t.) and they will look to repeat that here.


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Since gaining promotion, Le Havre have really struggled in the top league. Their home form has been terrible, losing 6 of the 8 games while scoring just 7 goals. Valenciennes win yesterday has meant that Le Havre are now bottom, 4 points from safety and they already look like a side that's going down.

LORIENT, however, have turned their season around. After getting just 6 points from their first 9 games, they have lost just once since and sit comfortably in mid-table. Confidence has returned to the side and I think they should be favorites to win here.


Good luck!

Dario Gradi is back in charge at Crewe and he probably faces his biggest task in management - saving Crewe from relegation. This isn't helped today by the injury crisis that the BBC reports they have. They have lost their last 5 matches and the last time they won a game in the league was in September. There has been a mini-revival lately, they beat Carlisle in the cup and were unlucky not to get the draw at both Leicester and Cheltenham but confidence is still low.

SWINDON also have a caretaker manager in charge but David Byrne's (not of Talking Heads fame) team are in better shape. They can name an unchanged side and have only lost one of their last 8 games. They drew 5 of those 8 but Crewe, arguably, look to be an easier oppotunity to climb the league.

I'm a little scared of the draw but Swindon's odds seem big to me, so I'll go with them.


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STOCKPORT make the long trip down south to Yeovil today looking to bounce back after 2 defeats this week. Peterboro beat them at home last weekend, extending their unbeaten run to an incredible 15 games, and then, surprisingly, County were beaten by Gillingham in midweek in an FA Cup replay. Losing can become a habit and manager Jim Gannon will be hoping they can stop a third defeat. They have only lost once on their travels conceding just 6 goals. Lying just outside the play-off zone, a win here will stop a gap opening up between them and their rivals.

Yeovil are struggling this year. With just 19 points from 19 games, they will be hoping just to survive in this division this season. Their home form is actually not too bad. Losing only twice but they have drawn too many and struggle to score goals. In their last 8 games they have only scored 3 times. Against Stockport's mean defence this will be a problem.

After winning promotion last season, Stockport have continued to impress and they should end their short losing streak today.


Good luck!

SANKT PAULI have one of the worst away records in the league, losing 5 of their 7 games and conceding 20 goals. However, because of their strong home form, they currently lie in 5th and will be looking to go 3rd tonight in Frankfurt. They are also in form having only lost 1 of their last 8 games.
Tonight they play FSV Frankfurt who are not in form and have only won once all season. Although they lie bottom, their defence isn't too bad but they have only scored 6 goals at home and 3 of those were in the same match.

In their last game before the winter break, both teams will go for points but I believe St Pauli will come out on top.


Good luck!