Clermont Foot vs Bourges Foot 18

Guion stuck to the same approach as the Orléans friendly, fielding a completely different XI in each half to distribute minutes across the squad. The first-half line-up featured Ndiaye in goal, a back four of Berkani, M'Bahia, Salmier and Konaté, with Astic, Ackra and Diop in midfield and Bellache, Strotz and Saintorens leading the attack.

Clermont controlled long spells of the first half and carved out several promising opportunities. Saintorens — fresh from signing his first professional contract with the club on 7 July — looked lively in attack, but the Rouge et Bleu were repeatedly thwarted by a combination of wayward finishing and organised defending from the visitors.

The second-half XI saw wholesale changes: Guivarch took over in goal, with Coulibaly, Kena-Kabeya, Hamdia and Nsimba across the back. Baallal, Berkani (the only player to feature in both halves), Bouchenna and Hunou operated in midfield, with Douane and Nyindong up front.

Despite the personnel changes, the pattern remained similar. Clermont pushed forward without finding the precision needed in the final third, and Bourges — a side playing three tiers below Clermont in the French football pyramid — held firm to secure a credible clean sheet.

There was no single decisive moment in a game defined by its absence of goals. The most notable feature was Guion's willingness to give every outfield player roughly 45 minutes, prioritising fitness-building over match-winners. The lack of continuity in the attacking line — eight different forward players across the two halves — made it difficult for any attacking partnership to develop rhythm.

• Arthur Saintorens: The 18-year-old, who signed his first pro contract eight days earlier, was Clermont's most dangerous outlet in the first half, showing sharp movement and willingness to run at defenders.
• Vital Nsimba: The experienced left-back, who extended his stay at the club earlier this month, brought composure to the second-half defence.
• Clermont's defensive unit: Across both line-ups, the backline kept a second consecutive clean sheet of pre-season — a positive sign for Guion after a Ligue 2 campaign that ended with defensive inconsistency.

Clermont's 0-0 draw with a National 2 side (fourth tier) tells two stories. On the positive side, the clean sheet extended their pre-season shut-out run to 180 minutes. The concern is the attacking output: after scoring just once against Orléans, failing to find the net against a lower-league opponent suggests the final-third sharpness is still some way off. The pre-season data from Sports Mole gave Clermont a 44.1% win probability, with a 1-0 home win (12.3%) the most likely scoreline — the actual 0-0 had a 10.6% predicted probability, making it an unremarkable outcome.

Clermont's pre-season record stands at one win and one draw. The preparation continues apace: the next friendly is against Andrézieux on Saturday 18 July at 17:00, again at the training ground at Stade Gabriel-Montpied. For Bourges Foot 18, this was a useful test against professional opposition as they gear up for their National 2 campaign.

A functional pre-season workout that served its purpose for Guion. The clean sheet is encouraging; the lack of goals is not yet a concern at this stage of July, but the attack will need to find its edge before the Ligue 2 season begins. Bourges leave with a well-earned draw and a shut-out of their own.