However busy Gerland gardeners may have been to ensure this game would not be cancelled due to the current cold wave striking in Europe, the French football authorities tried to get a few more degrees in anticipating it to 4.15 PM instead of 9PM, in the hope that a few sunrays would heat up the atmosphere.

French Cup (Coupe de France) Match Predictions 8 February 2012 - The 90th Minute Soccer Blog

Below are predictions for all the Coupe de France matches on Wednesday, February 8, 2012. Times listed are BST or local UK time.

French Cup (Coupe de France) Match Predictions

Wednesday, 8 February 2012

Lyon v Bordeaux, 15:15 Lyon wins 1-0

Valenciennes v Lille, 18:00 Lille wins 1-0

Chateauroux v Montpellier, 19:00 Montpellier wins 2-1

Ajaccio Jeanne d'Arc, 19:50 Ajaccio wins 2-0

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French Cup (Coupe de France) Match Predictions 8 February 2012 - The 90th Minute Soccer Blog

So we're back to yet another Cup game. Not the Coupe de la Ligue, that was last week. Not the Coupe de France either, that was the week before. No, wait, that's the Coupe de France again, but the next round. I'm getting confused... The good thing is that Lisandro isn't. He repeated this week that he WANTS to get a trophy with OL this year, and a French Cup, whichever it is, is a good and (normally) not too difficult way to get one.

Ah, the magic of the French cup We've just got over our annual dose of nostalgia during FA Cup third round weekend, but there was definitely a distinct lack of chicken chasing from England's footballing minnows. The FA Cup has been outdone by France's Coupe De France. Fifth division outfit Sable face the giants of [.

Stay cool, it may feel like deja vu but you're not in the Matrix. It's just this French invention of adding to the venerable Coupe de France a modern nemesis called Coupe de la Ligue, and programming them at the same period.

This cup is the least respected of the two and many presidents already said it should be abandoned, but it has at least two advantages : First, it is the shortest route to a title, meaning it's an opportunity to salvage your season when you've missed the top spot of the championship (thinking of anyone?

AS Lyon Duchère vs. Olympique Lyonnais

Coupe de France, Round of 64

Coupe de France greets us on the other side of the winter break, and OL travels to, well, Lyon. The fourth division team of Lyon Duchère, the youth club of Eric Abidal, hosts Olympique Lyonnais, the big boys this time.

Sochaux returnee Charlie Davies is not in the squad for this weekend's Coupe de France tie at Bastia. It's just a little too soon, doesn't mean anything in particular. He will play for the reserves on Sunday.- Greg Seltzer

An ocean of luck, that's what Lyon have been bathing in for the last month or so. Even last saturday, OL have won their last home game of the year, for the first time in ten years: another sign of the success of Lyonnais in December. A miracle in the Champions League, followed by other very favorable news (Nicosia, for C1, the neighbor La Duchère for La Coupe de France, a string of referee decisions that got us to win) four straight wins in the Championship .

Ka-boom!! For all Spurs fans Younes Kaboul's 85th minute winner at the Emirates last season was a moment to savour. It wasn't the first time the French international had scored a crucial goal in a big game. Spurs 125th anniversary game had turned into a bit of a nightmare, being 4-1 down to Aston Villa certainly didn't point to a glorious birthday celebration.

Football Club de Nantes is one of the most successful clubs in French football with eight Ligue 1 titles, three Coupe de France wins, and one Coupe de la Ligue victory to its credit. FC Nantes has also produced a series of well-known players via its youth system including World Cup 1998 winners Marcel Desailly, [.

Yohan Cabaye helped Lille do the double in France last season as they were French Champions and also won the Coupe de France. Yohan Cabaye - now a Newcastle player But that didn't stop Yohan from leaving the club he joined when he was 12 years old, from his home town club, Tourcoing back in [...]

I've just watched a couple Lille matches the Coupe de France (French Cup) final victory over Paris Saint-Germain on the weekend and the almost-league-title-clinching victory tonight over Sochaux.

The secret to Lille's success appears to be good players. A fair few of them are French most notably their rock at the back, and France's first-choice right-sided central defender, Adil Rami (who's transferring to Valencia at the end of the season).

No changes in the Bonus Points this week so there aren't any huge moves in the rankings. That may change this week after the Copa Libertadores reaches the semifinal stages and the South American clubs hit the Super Bonus Point stage, but again, that's next week.
This week is a celebration of championships.

No changes in the Bonus Points this week so there aren't any huge moves in the rankings. That may change this week after the Copa Libertadores reaches the semifinal stages and the South American clubs hit the Super Bonus Point stage, but again, that's next week.
This week is a celebration of championships.

By IAN HOLLIDAY

After this weekend's matches, four of the five leagues we've been following all year have crowned champions, and the fifth is well on its way to being decided.

With Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan, and FC Barcelona all having claimed their respective titles already, Manchester United joined the club this week, officially claiming an English record 19th title with a 1-1 draw at Blackburn on Saturday.

Marseille manager and former French national and Juventino player, Didier Deschamps, has an expression that says it all after hearing Lille won the Coupe de France final Saturday. Okay we lied, this isn't a picture taken after hearing of Lille's Coupe de France victory. But can't you just picture the Marseille maestro providing a similar contemplative expressive look to.

Marseille manager and former French national and Juventino player, Didier Deschamps, has an expression that says it all after hearing Lille won the Coupe de France final Saturday. Okay we lied, this isn't a picture taken after hearing of Lille's Coupe de France victory. But can't you just picture the Marseille maestro providing a similar contemplative expressive look to.

In a fortnight of international football in which half of the Lyonnais have gone missing, selected for their respective international duties, Claude Puel and his staff said they nonetheless managed to have interesting training sessions with the few souls remaining along the Rhône at the Tola Vologe training facility, progressively incorporating their returning colleagues.

Remember... this must have been a century ago : Bordeaux versus Lyon, a Champions League quarter final. Long gone are these glory days... Today, both eliminated from the Coupe de France and authors of several series of sub-standard performances since the start of the season, Lyon and Bordeaux clash tonight at the Stade Gerland, closing a 22nd Ligue 1 matchday which saw Marseille, Rennes and Saint-Etienne win.

A crucial encounter. Rather than a pleasant wine contest between Cotes du Rhône and Bordeaux, tonight's game will leave at least a big gun with a sour taste in the mouth... And, it'd better be Bordeaux, if you ask me.

Remember... this must have been a century ago : Bordeaux versus Lyon, a Champions League quarter final.

FC Barcelona and Real Madrid will meet in the Copa del Rey final

The headlines over the last 24 hours have belonged mainly to the big two of Spanish football as Real Madrid and FC Barcelona marched on to the final of the Copa del Rey following victories against Sevilla FC and Almeria CF respectively.

FC Barcelona and Real Madrid will meet in the Copa del Rey final

The headlines over the last 24 hours have belonged mainly to the big two of Spanish football as Real Madrid and FC Barcelona marched on to the final of the Copa del Rey following victories against Sevilla FC and Almeria CF respectively.

By FRANCO PANIZO

Stuart Holden and Bolton Wanderers' hopes of claiming the Premiership's Europa League spot may be grim, but those dreams stayed alive on Wednesday.

Currently in eighth place, Bolton Wanderers stayed within distance of fifth-place Tottenham Hotspur by defeating Wolves 1-0.

Come on boys, the nap is over! Now that we've made sure to get out of every possible disturbance like the Coupe de la Ligue and the Coupe de France, could we please move the bottom part of our back, and fight for the championship title? I'd better tell you : I'm angry.

OK, Nice had their best game of the season last saturday.

A cold shower. That's about how I felt watching the Coupe de France game against Nice last Sunday. With the interest and hope aroused by the two previous Ligue 1 and Coupe de France games, we were prepared to celebrate a fairly easy win. I had draft text messages ready to send to the few Nice supporters I happen to know : "good game, too bad".

By IAN HOLLIDAY

Though the club at times has looked far from invinvible this year, the fact remains that Manchester United has gone undefeated through its first 22 Premier League matches. Perhaps the biggest factor in the Red Devils' success so far has been the form of Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov, who added three more goals to his league-leading total of 18 in the club's 5-0 thrashing of Birmingham City on Saturday.

Two teams. Two coaches who count on the Coupe de France to salvage their record at the end of the season. Granted, Nice is in a far worse position than Lyon; but when you're coaching Lyon, you're expected to win the title, or, at the very least, to be qualified for the Champions League.

An empty infirmary, a convincing win, a growing confidence, many if not all ingredients of a virtuous circle now seem to be at OL's disposal. While the players train to prepare their Sunday encounter against Nice for the 1/16 final of the Coupe de France, here's a roundup of news and comments related to the club:

Jean II and Lyon, c'est fini .

Two Americans will carry on into the final 32 of the Coupe de France after Carlos Bocanegra and Saint-tienne fell at the previous hurdle.

Aston Villa have completed the signing of Jean Makoun from Lyon for a fee thought to be in the region of €6m* possibly rising by a further €3m depending on performances. The 27 year old brings a wealth of experience with almost 250 Ligue 1 appearance, more than 50 European appearances and 56 caps for Cameroon including four African Nations Championships and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

There has been perhaps no bigger win in the history of French Ligue 2 club Evian than Sunday's victory over Olympique Marseille in the Coupe de France which starred American goalkeeper Quentin Westberg.

You may or may not have heard about how Évian keeper Quentin Westberg stared down French champs Marseille in a 3-1 Coupe de France upset on Sunday. Well, either way, I got a quick word with the Ligue 2 club's #2 and we have the highlight reel. Please do note how his terrific outlet boot provides an "NHL assist" on the game-winner.

The Round of 64 in the Coupe de France saw Carlos Bocanegra and Saint Etienne get upended at home versus Ligue 2's Clermont while Quentin Westberg was clutch in goal during Evian's upset of Marseille.

PSG vs Lens Coupe de France- January 8, 2011 Final score :- PSG 5-1 Lens (Zoumana Camara, Nene, Guillaume Hoarau*2, Luyindula) PSG ( Paris Saint-Germain) thrashed ten man Lens 5-1 in the French Cup on January 8, 2011. Guillaume Hoaraou scored for a brace for PSG against Lens, who ended the game with ten men [.

Against Caen today, Lyon will compete in the 217th Coupe de France match in its history. So this little known competition goes a long way, and few people know that the Football Club de Lyon played in 1917 already in the final of the very first edition of this competition, against Olympique .. de Pantin (a Paris suburb).

The Coupe de France resumes action with all Ligue 1 clubs getting their first taste of the tournament highlighted by Carlos Bocanegra's Saint-Etienne who take on Clermont.

Yipee ! To start with this first post of 2011 let me wish you all a brilliant, fun, prosperous, healthy, sparkling and footballistic new year. Champagne!

(Just make sure to spare a bottle in the fridge to celebrate when we win our 8th championship title at the end of the season). Ahum.

So, while most of us try to fight the weight put on during the winter holidays and add to our list of resolutions for the new year (or the other way round), what are the players doing?