All right, picture the lights going up on a chilly October afternoon at Colmar Stadium—it’s more “Friday Night Lights” (or I guess technically “Saturday Afternoon Grit,” but stay with me) than anything else you’re catching in the multiplex this weekend. Two teams, Colmar and Beauvais, both trying to script themselves out of a mid-season funk and into something that smells a little more like hope than regret. If you’re tuning in expecting a Marvel sequel, let’s just say this isn’t Endgame... but it is the kind of matchup where reputations and maybe even futures get written in boldface.

First, let’s go wide lens, Scorsese style. Colmar—remember the high expectations? Remember that feeling of “it’s our year?” Somehow, it’s all drifted into “what the hell happened?” territory. Their last five matches read like the Wikipedia summary for a ‘90s Adam Sandler movie: one win, one draw, three losses, with the offense scoring just enough to tease but not enough to save. A win at Blois gave fans a taste of the good stuff—remember that 2-0, the way they pressed early? But since then, it’s been a parade of missed chances and defensive bleeps, capped off by that ugly home loss to Epinal where they barely threatened the net and looked about as inspired as a late-season episode of “The Office” after Steve Carell left.

And it’s not just the scoreboard—it’s the vibe. Colmar’s latest drama wasn’t even on the pitch but in the comité, after they were slapped with a forfeit for the abandoned match against Epinal. There’s nothing like a good off-field controversy to send a dressing room into “Succession” mode—suspicion, confusion, and a little bit of “are we seriously doing this again?”

Flip the channel and you get Beauvais, a club that’s straddling the line between “hey, they could actually do something” and “oh no, not again.” Their form’s a weird collage: two wins, two draws, one loss in the last five, averaging just over a goal a game, but when they explode—man, do they explode. That 3-1 win away at Epinal? Pure “Ted Lasso” energy. The kind of performance that makes you believe, if just for a half, that these guys could run with anybody on their day. But then, next week, it’s back to the very “Beauvais” struggle—scraping to a draw against Feignies-Aulnoye or coughing up points at Dieppe.

So what are we looking at, tactically? Think of Colmar as the classic high-pressing side, only recently, the press looks a little more like junior varsity tryouts than Liverpool 2019. Their back line has looked especially suspect, leaking goals at ugly moments. If you’re Beauvais, you’re licking your lips at the prospect of running at that back four, especially if you can survive Colmar’s opening 20-minute flurry at home. Colmar need their attackers—let’s call them the “Mighty Ducks” here—to make something from nothing, to get a crowd that’s been starved of home goals off its feet early. If not, you can already hear the restless shuffling in the stands by minute 30.

But Beauvais isn’t built for parking the bus. They’re not sitting back at Anfield, they’re more like the Knicks—sometimes just blissfully charging forward whether it makes sense or not. Watch for their wide players; the last time these teams met, it was on the wings where Beauvais found space. If they can stretch Colmar, drag those defenders into the deep end, then suddenly the game gets fast, loose, and a little bit dangerous.

The individual matchups are a chef’s kiss, too. Colmar’s keeper is the type that can swing from “Blockbuster Hero” to “Direct-to-Video Villain” in one match—if he can get hot, he’ll keep Colmar in it even if the defense is wobbling. Beauvais, on the other hand, have been getting goals from unexpected places. Their midfield can go missing at times, but when they click you get those quick, snappy moves that turn defenders into road cones. If the midfield battle tilts Beauvais’ way, it’s a problem for Colmar.

What’s at stake? Everything but the actual title, which is kind of the point in these National 2 weeks. For Colmar, redemption. For Beauvais, momentum. You can make a very real case that this is one of those psychological matches—the kind where you either snap out of your own bad Netflix series and start a playoff push, or where your October turns into a horror movie marathon of dropped points and unanswered questions.

Prediction? Hard to bet on Colmar right now. Too many plot holes, not enough heroes stepping up when it matters. Beauvais have their own issues, but at least they’ve shown an ability to ride the rollercoaster and still finish the ride with most of their lunch intact. But it’s Colmar Stadium, early kickoff, home crowd desperate for something—anything—to believe in. If Colmar come out swinging, force the issue early, maybe this is the day they find their groove.

But if we get another episode of wasted chances and defensive chaos? Beauvais are more than capable of stealing this one late, putting Colmar on the trailer for another long week of introspection. Either way, grab your popcorn—or your pain au chocolat—this one’s going to be pure National 2 drama, the kind you can’t turn away from even when you know exactly how crazy it just might get.