Team Focus: Montpellier - Giroud's Supporting Cast

Ok, hands up if you had Paris Saint Germain vs Montpellier in week 24 of Ligue 1 as a top of the table clash when the fixtures were announced in the summer. No? Neither did we. It's about time that Montpellier got the credit their superb play deserves. With 23 games gone La Paillade have only tasted defeat four times and only another four teams have escaped from their matches with at least a point. Coach Rene Girard has watched his side score 45 goals, five more than anyone else in the league.

Girard has the magnificent Olivier Giroud to thank for most of his side’s success with the centre forward netting 16 league goals this season. The 25-year old has been easily one of Ligue 1's shining lights. His rating of 7.59 puts him second to Nene in the WhoScored rankings and it has been a superb season for the forward, which will hopefully peak at the European Championships in Poland/Ukraine.

For any striker to score that many goals he needs a strong support cast. In Girard's 4-2-3-1 the three creative players have been so important to Giroud and Montpellier's success, and it's lucky for both that the players picked all have special qualities.

One of this season’s most surprising players has been the former Lille and Saint-Etienne midfielder Geoffrey Dernis. The 31-year old is possibly playing the best football of his career. In thirteen games he has scored five goals and has averaged 1.9 shots per game and 0.7 key passes. However, one surprise is that he only has one assist so far.

Waving his left leg around the Stade de la Mosson to devastating effect the midfielder has been a joy to watch, showing great balance and a wonderful range of passing there is no doubt Dernis has deserved his place in the Montpellier starting XI this season. Disaster struck last week when Dernis picked up a thigh strain and it looks like he will miss five or six weeks. A huge blow to Rene Girard’s plans but, as has been the way with this side, as one players suffering opens the door for someone else.

When Younes Belhanda left for the African Cup of Nations it was another chance for French U21 midfielder Remy Cabella to show the Ligue 1 fans what he could offer. Last season’s loan spell at Arles-Avignon didn’t add much in the way of playing time but Cabella did return to MHSC as a more mature player. You can see this from his performances for club and country.

The U21 international has shown moments of excellent pace, agility and a real belief to take on his man. In 14 appearances he already has three goals, one assist and a rating of 6.92. His passing accuracy is up at 88.7% and he averages 0.9 key passes a game. Not bad considering seven of those appearances came off the bench. Injury to Dernis has given Cabella the chance to extend his run in the first team. At times the link up play with Giroud has looked breath-taking. He has a youthful exuberance and a certain cockiness about his strut that just adds to his quality.

Over on the opposite flank is the much maligned former Rennes and Portsmouth forward John Utaka. Now at the ripe age of 30 the pace he once terrified defences with is all but gone, however what it leaves is a tall physical forward, able to take on his man and provide a threat coming in from the left. In the 20 games he has played the Nigerian has contributed with three goals and two assists and apart from Henri Bedimo no one else has been as successful in beating his man as Utaka. Threatening with an average of 1 key pass a game and 2.1 shots, it is easy to see why Girard sticks with the forward game after game.

As the old saying goes, we’ve saved the best for last. Moroccan Younes Belhanda nearly left Montpellier in the summer, with Lyon and Marseille both apparently making bids for the #10. Of course they will return this summer, but they will find a much better player 12 months down the line.

Before his time away at the African Cup of Nations an interesting stat made the rounds. Olivier Giroud had not found the net during the 337 minutes that Belhanda had not joined him on the pitch - quite worrying for a side about to lose him for three to four weeks. It is true that the talisman does go missing from time to time but when he decides to make his mark on a game it can be to devastating effect. Not lacking in self-confidence Belhanda will beat his man with ease and break forward at pace before picking the defence splitting pass that proves crucial.

Montpellier President Louis Nicollin called him “the next Hazard” and even though he is a year older than the Belgian forward it is easy to see where Nicollin is coming from. With six goals and four assists this is set to be Belhanda’s best season in France. Averaging 1.9 for both shots and key passes per game, only his inconsistencies stop his rating of 6.93 from climbing higher.

Sunday brings about one of this season’s biggest games and the bookies will install PSG as pre-game favourites. Rene Girard will go there knowing he has a team capable of causing an upset and if this quartet can all find form on the same day, PSG could be the latest casualty of La Paillade.