Find the complete schedule of professional sports club matches in Provence for this weekend: football, basketball, volleyball, handball…
FOOTBALL
OM – Ligue 1 The race for Europe is heating up. In 4th place, just one point behind Lille (3rd), OM will travel to Lorient (9th) on Saturday at 5 pm. The Lorient team has gone 3 matches without a win (2 losses, 1 draw) while the Olympians ended their 2-match losing streak last week with a victory against the bottom team Metz (3-1). Lorient vs. OM will be broadcast live on Maritima.
Les Marseillaises РArkema Premi̬re Ligue No matches scheduled this weekend for Les Marseillaises. The OM players (9th) will host Nantes (4th) on Wednesday, April 22nd at 6:45 pm at the Turcan stadium in Martigues. In their last match on March 28th, Les Marseillaises fell to the bottom team Montpellier (1-2) at the V̩lodrome stadium.
Aubagne – National They are back on track. Aubagne Air Bel footballers ended a 7-match winless streak by beating Puy last week (1-2). This victory pushed them up to 11th place in the National league. Tonight at 7:30 pm, they will try to continue their winning streak by hosting Orleans (6th), who have been undefeated since late January (4 wins, 6 draws).
RUGBY
Provence Rugby РPro D2 Aixois are facing a tough match against B̩ziers tonight at 7:30 pm in the 27th round of Pro D2. Provence rugby, tied in 4th place with Valence-Romans, will take on B̩ziers, who are in 15th place and coming off a heavy defeat against Vannes (71-0) last Friday.
HANDDBALL
Istres Provence Handball and PAUC РLiqui Moly Starligue A derby for Istres handballers. Istres (14th Р11 points), who moved out of the relegation zone after their victory against S̩lestat, hosts N̨mes (11th Р17 points) on Sunday at 5 pm at the Halle polyvalente. Romain Mathias, with 256 saves at 32%, including 20 last week, will lead Istres as they aim to continue their good form against N̨mes, who have suffered 6 defeats and only earned one point away from home this season.
Aix – Saint-Raphaël Aix (8th – 23 points) will face Saint-Raphaël (7th – 23 points) on Friday at 8 pm at the Arena. Both teams are looking to move closer to European qualification spots but are not in top form. Saint-Raphaël has lost their last three matches while Aix is coming off two wins.
Martigues Handball – Nationale 1 Martigues handball team cannot afford any mistakes. 11th in their N1 group, they will host bottom team Saint-Étienne on Saturday at 8 pm at the Palais des Sports. Both teams have the same number of points (27) and are 4 points away from the first non-relegation spot, Toulouse, with 4 rounds remaining.
VOLLEY
Martigues Volley – Ligue B A tough match for MVB. Martigues volleyball team (2nd) will play against Cambrai (5th) on Saturday at 8 pm. The “Avatiques” are just two points behind the leader Royan, who will face Saint-Quentin (3rd) in another exciting match. With 5 rounds to go, the promotion race in Ligue B is still wide open.
BASKETBALL
Fos Provence Basket and Pays Salonais Basket – Nationale Masculine 1 As co-leaders in the National 1 phase, Fos basketball team (2nd) will play against Tarbes-Lourdes (9th) tonight at 8 pm. Tarbes ended a 6-match losing streak last week. The match earlier in the season was very close, with Fos winning by just one point. Fos has a strong record in the second phase of the championship with 7 wins and one loss. They will follow up with a home game against Sables d’Olonne (8th) on Tuesday, April 21st, at the Halle Giuitta.
Pays Salonais – Chartres Two direct competitors for survival in National 1 will face each other tonight. Pays Salonais (9th) will host Chartres (10th) at 8 pm at Halle Saint Côme. Chartres is currently in the relegation zone, while Salon has a slight advantage. Despite a heavy loss to Val de Seine last week, “Tigres” have recorded 4 wins in their last 6 matches.
Martigues Sport Basket – Nationale Féminine 1 It’s the final matchday of the championship. After being exempt last weekend, Martigues women’s basketball team (6th) will play their last match of the season against Colomiers (9th) on Saturday, April 18th. This last round will determine where MSB finishes, between 5th and 7th place. The three clubs, Le Poinçonnet, Martigues, and Montferrand, are tied on the same points. The 4th place is out of reach as St Delphin is 5 points ahead.
