Ligue 2. For Caen, the schedule is getting tough

By Aline Chatel
Published on 25 Feb 21 at 11:38

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Yes the Stade Malherbe Caen had managed to keep his advantage at Guingamp, Monday, February 22, 2021 (2-2), the schedule of his last third of the season could have appeared damn exciting. The Caennais would have counted “only” eight points behind the top 5 and, with renewed enthusiasm thanks to a second consecutive success, they would have seen the direct confrontations that awaited them as more opportunities than obstacles. Patatras, Caen was joined in Brittany and his ten point delay on Auxerre seems more and more crippling in the race to the dams. Especially since the last 12 games appear tough to say the least.

The top 5 in the last seven days

Finally, only the derby against Le Havre, scheduled for Monday March 15, 2021, today appears to be a meeting of low sporting interest. The stake will be elsewhere in this Norman confrontation. The other matches will pit Caen against opponents still vying for something, at the top and bottom of the standings. Stade Malherbe has yet to meet the seven teams that precede it in the standings. The top 5 composed of Troyes, Clermont, Toulouse, Grenoble and Auxerre, against whom he has systematically obtained or conceded (according to the analysis) a draw in the first leg, will present himself to him during the last seven days. May will be terrible: Auxerre on the 1st, Toulouse on the 8th and Clermont, to conclude, on the 15th.

Caen without a win against the teams that precede it

Against these seven formations which can hope for a direct rise or the playoffs (the Paris FC and Sochaux, respectively sixth and seventh, are three and six points behind Auxerre), Caen pocketed only five points in the first leg. Which matches reminded us that the Rouge et Bleu did not fight in the same category.

Caen “zero” against the poorly classified

In parallel, Caen will also find training in the fight for maintenance. Nancy straightened the bar and got some air but remains concerned by the matter at the moment. Dunkerque neither came out of the hostel from the top of 16th place. As for Pau and Châteauroux, last and penultimate, a barrage place would already make them happy. But if the Caennais held their own against the leaders of Ligue 2, they often gave way to the poorly classified. “We are zero against these teams,” says Pascal Dupraz. In fact, Caen took just one point out of six possible ahead of Pau and Châteauroux in the first part of the season.

15 points against these 12 teams in the first leg

To tell the truth, it is difficult to express a typical profile of the ideal opponent for Caen, who had taken 15 points against the 12 opponents who are waiting for him in the first leg. The Caen will try to do better during the three short months of competition remaining to, at least, keep their place in the first part of the table …

The Caen calendar

Saturday February 27 (7:00 p.m.): Caen – Paris FC (6th)

Tuesday March 2 (8:00 p.m.): Nancy (15th) – Caen

Monday March 15 (8:45 p.m.): Caen – Le Havre (9th)

Saturday March 20 (7:00 p.m.): Châteauroux (20th district) – Caen

Saturday April 3 (7:00 p.m.): Caen – Pau (19th)

Saturday April 10 (7:00 p.m.): Grenoble (4th) – Caen

Saturday April 17 (7:00 p.m.): Troyes (1st) – Caen

Tuesday April 20 (8:00 p.m.): Caen – Dunkirk (16th)

Saturday April 24 (7 p.m.): Sochaux (7th) – Caen

Saturday May 1st (7:00 p.m.): Caen – Auxerre (5th)

Saturday May 8 (7:00 p.m.): Toulouse (3rd) – Caen

Saturday May 15 (7:00 p.m.): Caen – Clermont (2nd)

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