Ligue 1 Preview: Olympique de Marseille – Saint-Etienne - 7M sport

Ligue 1 Preview: Olympique de Marseille – Saint-Etienne

Posted Friday, April 23, 2010 by Goal.com

Les Phoceens are potentially just a couple of weeks from the French crown and will be aiming to take another step to their ultimate goal against Sainte on Sunday night...

Kick-Off: Sunday, April 25, 2010. 21:00 CET
Stade Velodrome, Marseille

Nearing The Finishing Line

Timing is something that every potential champion needs, and Olympique de Marseille seem to have that in spades at present. Les Phoceens have been crowned the champions elect of France over the last couple of weeks after opening up a five point gap at the summit of the table, Didier Deschamps’ men certainly seem to have made the decisive break from what was previously a tightly congested pack.

Their surge has been helped by a couple of tardy goals over the course of the last couple of weeks. Faced with a crucial midweek away trip to Sochaux, OM were stifled impressively by les Lionceaux until the last but one minute, when Stephane Mbia took advantage of a dangerous free kick to thump home the only goal of the game.

Last weekend, les Phoceens were nearly frustrated by relegation candidates Boulogne-Sur-Mer at the Stade de la Liberation. Having made the long trip north by train and then bus, OM grabbed the lead through Mathieu Valbuena just before half-time, having been stifled for much of the first period. USBCO offered little as an attacking forced but struck eight minutes from time when Jeremy Blayac, fresh off the bench. The title curse of Marseille seemed to have struck them once again, but les Phoceens mustered a late rally, winning a penalty kick that Taye Taiwo converted.

It has been 17 years since the Provence giants last claimed French football’s ultimate crown, but it seems that their lengthy wait is finally ending. Should Auxerre slip up at Toulouse earlier in the weekend and should OM claim three points against Sainte, as they are anticipated to do, the title could be sewn up in Burgundy next Friday – a quite remarkable achievement given that OM were ten points back from then-league leaders Girondins de Bordeaux before Christmas.

Slow Improvement

Marseille may be a sleeping giant of French football, but Saint-Etienne is a former titan now in something of a come. No other side in l’Hexagone has enjoyed as much domestic success as les Verts, but since their heyday of the 1970s, the Loire side have fallen on difficult times, thoroughly eclipsed by near neighbours Olympique Lyonnais.

Sainte have spent periods in the second flight of the French game and they are presently doing their best to ensure they don’t tumble down to Ligue 2 once again. Under Alain Perrin, les Verts narrowly relegation, only securing their place in this season’s top flight by virtue of overhauling Caen on the final day of last season. Inevitably, the former Portsmouth boss left the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard when it seemed another battle against the drop was on the cards.

Christophe Galtier has taken the reins and has done an admirable job. His first task was to plug the defensive leaks that had become all too frequent in les Verts’ rearguard. On his dugout debut at Sainte, which came against Marseille in December, the coach was not aided by the early dismissal of Stathis Tavlaridis, but his side grimly held on, securing a point and setting the scene for a gritty conclusion to the season.

Eight points from immediate danger, Galtier has guided his side to crucial recent victories over the likes of Sochaux and Le Mans, becoming an altogether tougher unit to beat in the process. Sainte were disappointed not to defeat a rotated Paris Saint-Germain side last weekend, but that simply serves as a reminder to the players that the benchmark has been raised and that safety is not yet secure.

FORM GUIDE

Marseille

WON 2-1 (a) Boulogne-Sur-Mer (Ligue 1, April 17)

WON 1-0 (a) Sochaux (Ligue 1, April 14)

WON 4-1 (h) Nice (Ligue 1, April 11)

WON 3-0 (h) Sochaux (Ligue 1, April 7)

WON 1-0 (h) Racing Club de Lens (Ligue 1, April 4)

Saint-Etienne

DREW 0-0 (h) Paris Saint-Germain (Ligue 1, April 18)

WON 2-0 (a) Saint-Etienne (Ligue 1, April 10)

WON 2-0 (h) Le Mans (Ligue 1, April 3)

LOST 4-0 (a) Lorient (Ligue 1, March 28)

LOST 3-1 (a) Racing Club de Lens (Coupe de la Ligue, March 24)

TEAM NEWS

Marseille

Didier Deschamps could potentially have a full squad to play with ahead of Sunday’s clash. Both Bakari Kone and Hatem Ben Arfa were absent for last weekend’s victory in Boulogne, but both returned to training earlier this week and will be available for this encounter against les Verts. Fernando Morientes could still be absent, but he’s only featured once very briefly since the turn of the year.

Probable Starting XI: Mandanda; Bonnart, Diawara, Mbia, Heinze; Cisse, Cheyrou; Valbuena, Lucho, Ben Arfa; Niang

Saint-Etienne

Visiting coach Christophe Galtier has had to toy about with his squad on a regular basis since he took charge last December simply because of the volume of injuries the Loire side have sustained. Their main problem this week surrounds midfielder Christophe Landrin, who has been sidelined for a significant period of time this term and isn’t expected to play again. There are also worries over squad men such as Hilton dos Reis and Yohan Andreu.

Belgian attacker Kevin Mirallas is still banned, but he tends to be a squad man at best.

Probable Starting XI: Janot; Dabo, Diakhate, Benalouane, Varrault; Sako, Gelson, Matuidi, Payet; Bergessio, Riviere

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Marseille

After questions were initially raised about the performance of Lucho Gonzalez when he first arrived in Marseille for a record fee, the Argentine is starting to reply to his critics in quite superb fashion. The former Porto playmaker now leads Ligue 1 with 11 assists and seems to be improving with each passing game. He’s admitted he spent quite a bit of time bedding into the team because of the language barrier, but now he’s almost fully integrated in the team he has become one of their true leaders.

Saint-Etienne

Dimitri Payet has been very impressive on the left-wing for les Verts, simply adding volume to the critics who questioned why he was not utilised more regularly earlier in the campaign. Dangerous due to his tricky style and creative instincts, Marseille will have to police the former Nantes man closely if they are to achieve a shut-out.

PREDICTION

The only worry for OM going into Sunday’s match should be their historical propensity to slip up when the pressure’s on. Didier Deschamps’ Phoceens have already stood firm under intense pressure when the spotlight of the Coupe de la Ligue final was shone on them, and they must be strongly fancied come Sunday evening. Sainte are a more robust side than they were in the early stages of the campaign, but their fight won’t be sufficient in their battle against relegation.

Olympique de Marseille 2-0 Saint-Etienne



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