Marseille hosts Lyon in match between contenders - 7M sport

Marseille hosts Lyon in match between contenders



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Posted Thursday, February 02, 2012 by YAHOO Sport

PARIS (AP)—In-form but depleted Marseille hosts Lyon in a match that could deal a blow to the title hopes of the losing team Sunday in the French league.

Marseille and Lyon are the only French teams still in the running in four competitions.

Both qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League and of the French Cup and have very little room for error in the domestic league. Lyon is in fourth place, one point clear of Marseille but eight behind leader Paris Saint-Germain.

“We will try to get closer to the podium and then try to get closer to PSG little by little,” Marseille winger Mathieu Valbuena said.

Marseille won its eighth straight game in all competitions Wednesday to edge Nice 2-1 in the League Cup semifinals and next play Lyon, which beat Lorient 4-2 in extra time Tuesday.

“We will be quickly left behind if we don’t extend this run,” Marseille midfielder Benoit Cheyrou said. “The goal has always been to finish in the top three and try to become champions.”

Marseille lost Argentine playmaker Lucho Gonzalez, who returned this week to Portuguese club Porto, and will miss Ghana forwards Andre and Jordan Ayew, who are on duty at the African Cup of Nations. It will also play without Valbuena, who leads the league with 11 assists and was sent off Wednesday.

During the winter transfer window, PSG upgraded its squad and improved its chances of winning its first league title since 1994 by signing goalkeeper Ronan Le Crom, Brazilian defenders Alex and Maxwell and Italy midfielder Thiago Motta.

PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti hopes his team will show more focus and confidence when it faces Evian on Saturday.

“We must improve the confidence in our game and the ability to play 90 minutes,” Ancelotti told a news conference. “We must improve to be more consistent in a match.”

PSG has the best defense in the league and will seek to contain Evian striker Yannick Sagbo and midfielder Cedric Barbosa, who have combined for 13 goals this season.

Meanwhile, second-place Montpellier looks to keep the pressure on PSG with a win over Brest.

“We have a young team,” Montpellier coach Rene Girard told a news conference. “When you compare with Paris, it’s different. But if we have some ambition, we must be rigorous and serious. We shouldn’t waste what we have achieved so far.”

Also on Saturday, it’s: Ajaccio vs. Nice; Dijon vs. Valenciennes; Nancy vs. Rennes; Saint-Etienne vs. Lorient; and Bordeaux vs. Toulouse.

On Sunday, Caen hosts Auxerre and defending champion Lille visits Sochaux.



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