Marseille are back in the groove

Tom Williams

Buoyed by victory over Chelsea in their final Champions League group game in mid-week, French champions Marseille will seek to revitalise their domestic title defence at Auxerre on Saturday.

Wednesday’s match with Chelsea may have had nothing riding on it, both sides having already qualified for the last 16, but it did allow the hosts to secure their first win in three matches after a recent wobble.

A 1-0 defeat at near neighbours Nice saw Marseille slip from first to fourth in the French top flight last weekend.

They had drawn 0-0 at home to Rennes in their previous game, and Brazilian striker Brandao’s late winner against Chelsea was Marseille’s first goal in over 260 minutes of football.

Prolific

Brandao has been far from prolific this season, and his coach Didier Deschamps praised his performance against the English champions — particularly in light of the attention focused on Didier Drogba’s return to his former club. “It’s a pretty strong sign that it was him that scored the decisive goal in the match,” said Deschamps. “It will give him confidence.

“It wasn’t easy for him with the context surrounding Didier Drogba.

Signing

“I’m happy for Didier but it was perhaps ‘a little bit too much’, to say it in English.

“It wasn’t straightforward for the players on our team, because the OM strikers are (Andre-Pierre) Gignac and Brandao (rather than Drogba).” Gignac, a 16-million-euro summer signing from Toulouse, has missed Marseille’s last five games with a hamstring problem.

Deschamps revealed he was in contention for the trip to Auxerre, but Brandao’s form means he is likely to start on the bench.

Auxerre’s Champions League adventure finished in disappointing fashion on Wednesday when they were thrashed 4-0 at Real Madrid in their closing group fixture.

Demolition

Defeat meant Jean Fernandez’s side failed to qualify for the Europa League and their disappointment was rendered more acute by a hamstring injury to captain Benoit Pedretti that will keep him out for a month.

Lille romped to the top of the table with a 6-3 demolition of Lorient last weekend and they visit bottom side Arles-Avignon on Saturday.

The visitors boast the league’s most prolific attack, with 31 goals scored in 16 games, while Arles’ defence, with 33 goals conceded, is the most porous.

Lille are likely to be without forward Gervinho, however, after he missed training on Thursday with a hamstring injury.

Coach Rudi Garcia said he would take “no risks” with the Ivory Coast international, ahead of the decisive Europa League clash with Belgian side Gent next week, but Belgian winger Eden Hazard (quadriceps) returns to the squad.

“Looking at the table, we know that we won’t have room for any mistakes,” warned Lille central midfielder Florent Balmont.

Dangerous

“The kind of match we’re going to play in Avignon on Saturday is the most dangerous.”

Lille go into the weekend with a one-point lead over Paris Saint-Germain and Rennes.

PSG, second on goal difference, visit 15th-placed Valenciennes on Sunday and are sweating on the fitness of centre-back Mamadou Sakho (adductor muscle).

If Sakho is declared unfit to play, Zoumana Camara will likely deputise alongside Sylvain Armand, who is set to make his 300th PSG appearance since his arrival at the club in 2004.

PARIS, Friday, AFP