Lille and Lyon are looking to bounce back from midweek European defeats when the French league contenders clash on Sunday, while Marseille is also under pressure to turn around its troubled season.
Real Madrid outclassed Lyon 4-0 while Lille dominated possession and scoring attempts but still lost 1-0 to Inter Milan in the Champions League.
Now, the pair know a victory will be important for keeping up with leader Paris Saint-Germain. Defending champion Lille is four points off PSG and one point behind Lyon.
''We were below par in terms of aggressiveness and commitment,'' Lyon coach Remi Garde said. ''You can feel the difference when we miss such key players as Maxime (Gonalons) and Lisandro (Lopez). It's up to us to quickly turn the page and focus on the upcoming matches.''
Lyon hopes Gonalons (thigh) and Lopez (ankle) return from injury for the match at the Metropole stadium.
''There will be no need to motivate my players. They will show desire,'' Lille coach Rudi Garcia said. ''Let's hope we can create plays throughout the match so that we can give ourselves the best chances to take three points on Sunday.''
PSG, which plays mid-table Dijon on Sunday, leads Montpellier and Lyon by three points.
Montpellier, which has scored 22 goals in 10 matches to lead the league, could put pressure on PSG by going level on points with the Paris club by beating Caen on Saturday.
''We're going to try and hang on to the top part of the table as long as possible,'' said Montpellier forward Olivier Giroud, who scored a hat trick in the 5-3 win over Dijon last weekend. ''We still have in mind the comments made at the start of the season by our president, who would like to see us finish in the top six or seven. That would be already great, but we all have in our minds the goal of doing a bit better.''
Montpellier finished in fifth place last year.
Marseille coach Didier Deschamps will be under increased pressure when his team hosts Ajaccio on Saturday following a 1-0 loss to Arsenal at Stade Velodrome on Wednesday.
In that match, stewards confiscated a banner calling for the return of Deschamps' predecessor, Belgian coach Eric Gerets.
''We have no maneuvering room left in the French league, we must therefore win,'' Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda said. ''The season could become very complicated if we don't show solidarity.''
Marseille is 15th, only one point above the drop.
Also on Saturday, it's: Bordeaux vs. Brest, Nancy vs. Nice, Saint-Etienne vs. Valenciennes, Sochaux vs. Evian and Lorient vs. Toulouse.
On Sunday, Rennes visits Auxerre.
