L’Equipe’s Starter Predictions for France vs. Ukraine

L’Equipe lists two possiblities for the start of the Ukraine-France game on Wednesday:

The first is:

4-2-1-2-1 with François Clerc, Lilian Thuram, William Gallas and Eric Abidal on defense, Lassana Diarra and Claude Makelele in front of them, Mathieu Flamini one of three midfielders, in the center supporting Sidney Govou (on the right) et Franck Ribéry (on the left) on the wings, [and] Thierry Henry [up front.]

The other option would be 4-4-2, taking out Flamini and puting Karim Benzema up front with Henry.

(I think Raymond must read this blog. Wasn’t I just recommending putting Govou on the right wing with Ribéry on the left?)

I’d be okay with either of these lineups, although I’m still not quite comfortable with Lassana Diarra and Claude Makelele as the holding midfielders. But maybe defense will be less porous with Abidal on the left? We can hope.

I thought I read something about both Flamini and Thuram picking up injuries in the Morocco game, but perhaps I was hallucinating, since both are listed as potential starters. But speaking of injuries, Chelsea fans will be thrilled to hear that Florent Malouda has returned home to continue his injury recovery. As far as I can tell, though, Nicolas Anelka and Jérémy Toulalan are heading to Kiev. With luck, though, they won’t need to play.

If you have thoughts on the game or the starting lineup, post them in the comments.