I expect the break to have done Troyes plenty of good, they are a team I like to watch and who play with a lot of freedom, but lost their way a little through December.  I think a good set of notes to reproduce here, to provide some background information, are from before their last Ligue 2 win, at Creteil at the end of November ...

Most of you know that Troyes are a favourite of mine, not least because of the massive favour they did for us at Valenciennes in the cup recently, ahead of which I wrote ...

"Hosts are bottom of Ligue 1 , five points from safety, have a vital six pointer with fellow strugglers Ajaccio at the weekend and I would suggest they need further involvement in this competition like another hole in the head !
Left back Loris Néry and defensive midfielder Tongo Doumbia (10-0-0) who both started in the home defeat to Evian at the weekend, along with a number of other defensive options , including central defender Lindsay Rose (7-0-1) and also striker Opa Nguette (8-0-0) are all out injured. They lost at the first stage of both domestic cup competitions last season to Ligue 2 oposition and it was the same story in this competition the previous season.

We discussed Troyes on Friday .... "You know that I love to watch this Troyes team, about whom I wrote earlier in the season..."Troyes impressed me at the end of last season in their ultimately fruitless attempt to avoid relegation, when they played with great spirit and attacking intent. Coach Jean Marc Furlan doesn't have a defensive bone in his body and will always be setting up his team to play on the front foot ."

They have been very badly hit with injuries all season, especially defensively, but still always look to push forward and will never sit on a lead, or take a backward step if trailing, I sent you highlights  of their recent 3-3 draw with Angers last week and that encapsulates everything that is good and I suppose bad about them. Good or bad, they are really fun to watch !
They get central defender Mahamadou N'Diaye (6-0-0) back tonight, but they have still been loathe (or unable) to name more that two full backs and we know that they are going to be looking to attack for at least 89 of the 90 minutes !  Auxerre have played pretty well in their last couple of matches, but have not faced a team as offensively potent or minded as Troyes for some time."

To be honest, Troyes are in a similar situation, in as much as they should only be focused on getting back into Ligue 1 asap and sitting just two points outside the promotion places, that will clearly be their priority, but two things, firstly they can only play one way, which is on the front foot and secondly, they do not have to play their Ligue 2 fixture until Monday night. They have named the same squad which saw off Auxerre comfortably on Friday, adding youngster Mickael Barreto and Thiago Xavier who has just recovered from long term injury and appear to be treating this seriously . This should be open and Valenciennes might welcome the chance to play without pressure, both to score, the visitors to edge it."

That played out perfectly, with Troyes winning 3-1 and landing both big odds selections. They then toiled through two matches, a draw at Brest on the Monday after and home loss to Laval, a few days later, with that quck turnaround once again proving very difficult to overcome. I suspect they were running on empty, it was their fourth start inside 14 days with a squad a little short of options. Tonight they are hungry to make up for that loss and coach Jean-Marc Furlan said his squad have really thrived during the break, with his men showing him tremendous "commitment and quality" this week in training.

 

It is worthwhile noting that the 3-0 win came after the international break and there is a good chance that FuRlan's team will again hit the ground running after the three week hiatus. They are certainly in better shape than for some time team news wise and just have two long term injuries  now, both to players who have not featured this season. They sit eight points behind the clubs in second and third, but with nine teams above them in the table and cannot afford to drop too many more points at home this season if they are to get involved in the promotion race, they definitely have the quality to do so and the oddsmakers appear to agree, with odds of circa 1.78 about them winning today, which IMO, is a little on the skinny side.
 

Clermont are considered by many to be the surprise package of the season, after battling relegation last season , but they had finished top seven in four of the five previous seasons, are again holding down a top six place and in truth, it is easy to view last season's performance as a blip, rather that this year as an overachievement.In at least one of those campaigns they "blew" a promotion opportunity which was theirs for the taking and they are another side who could get involved in the hunt for a top 3 place, I definitely expect them to hang around the fringes.There is a lot of attention around striker Gregory Bettiol (13-4-0) tonight, who returns to face his former club, he was hugely popular here, before injury stalled his career, which now looks back on track. However,Clermont arrive without another striker in Mana Dembélé (11-3-0) and right back Anthony Lippini (13-0-0....just one point in the three away starts he has missed) both of whom are suspended. I think Lippini is ....... to read the rest of this analysis, selection and other clubgowi weekend selections  ....click here.

 

Troyes:Matthieu Dreyer, Denis Petric,Lionel Carole, Maxime Colin, Florian Jarjat, Rincon, Matthieu Saunier,Yoann Court, Stéphane Darbion, Guillaume Lacour, Benjamin Nivet, Quentin Othon, Thiago,Ghislain Gimbert, Corentin Jean, Marcos.
 

Clermont:Farnolle, Scolan,Avinel, Bockhorni, Da Silva, Imorou, Kilota, Salze,Betsch, Ekobo, Hamdi, Moulin, Salibur, Vidémont,Bettiol, Dugimont, Nkololo.

 

Good Luck.