Marseille is seeking to keep the pressure on leader Bordeaux with a
victory at Saint-Etienne in the French league on Saturday.
Bordeaux only took the lead in the last three rounds to win
the title last season, overtaking Lyon and then Marseille to finish
top by three points. The situation is different this season as
Bordeaux has led the league for all but three rounds.
The defending champion tops the standings with 37 points from
17 matches, six clear of second-place Marseille, which has a game
in hand.
Marseille has the best offense in the league and is high on
confidence after beating Lorient 2-1 on Wednesday to stretch its
winning streak in the league to three games.
"It's the first time that we have won three matches in a
row," Marseille coach Didier Deschamps said. "Bordeaux is raking in
points. But we are too. Bordeaux is right up there ahead of us,
quite logically since it's the favorite."
Marseille will be visiting a team going through a crisis,
with Saint-Etienne having sacked coach Alain Perrin on Tuesday
after falling into the relegation zone.
Christophe Galtier, who was Perrin's assistant, has taken
over the coaching duties and hopes his team can bounce back from
heavy defeats to Paris Saint-Germain and Lille in its last two
matches.
"I have a very important goal: to bring back confidence
within the squad," Galtier said. "It's a quality squad but there's
currently a gap between what's going on in training and
performances on the pitch.
"We must show a different face against Marseille. We must
become a compact unit again."
Bordeaux, which has won four matches in a row, is at home
against Lorient on Saturday.
Lyon, which is two points behind Marseille in fourth, will
look to build on its 2-0 victory over Boulogne when it visits
Monaco on Sunday.
Les Gones might have won against second-bottom Boulogne but
they were jeered from kickoff to the final whistle by their own
fans at the Gerland stadium on Wednesday.
Monaco edged Rennes 1-0 on Wednesday to snap a five-game
winless streak.
"The most important thing is that we won the match," Monaco
midfielder Nene said. "It gives us confidence for Sunday that we
can have a good game."
The Mediterranean club was in second place after 10 rounds
but it has dropped back to midtable since then.
Also on Saturday, it's: Boulogne vs. Sochaux, Grenoble vs.
Nice, Montpellier vs. Nancy, Rennes vs. Paris Saint-Germain and
Valenciennes vs. Lens.
On Sunday, Auxerre hosts Toulouse and Lille faces Le Mans.
