Lyonnais vs Marseille preview - N'koulou not getting carried away - 7M sport

Lyonnais vs Marseille preview - N'koulou not getting carried away



Posted Saturday, October 25, 2014 by PA

Defender Nicolas N'koulou insists it is too soon to consider Marseille as Ligue 1 title contenders despite their scintillating start to the season.

OM have won eight consecutive league fixtures after drawing their opening game against Bastia and losing the next against Montpellier.

Marcelo Bielsa's side subsequently lead the Ligue 1 standings by seven points ahead of Paris St Germain and Bordeaux going into this weekend's fixtures.

Victory against Lyon on Sunday will set a club-record ninth consecutive Ligue 1 victory but N'koulou is not getting carried away by Marseille's fine run of form.

"Paris are still Paris. We are the little ones," he told ligue1.com.

"We are certainly better than last year but Paris, with their weaponry, remain the favourites. But it is true that we are having our say."

While eager to play down Marseille's title credentials for the time being at least, N'koulou was quick to praise Bielsa's influence on the team since he succeeded Elie Baup in May.

"It is a new way of working. He has a lot of responsibility in our victories," the Cameroon international added.

"To have a coach like him brings a lot to each of the players. He pays attention to each one of us, shows us what we have to do. We could not dream of better."

N'koulou is one of three Marseille players who could miss the November 11 showdown against PSG should they pick up yellow cards on Sunday, with Jeremy Morel and Andre Ayew also walking a disciplinary tightrope.

Lyon, meanwhile, are on a hot streak of their own, with Hubert Fournier's side unbeaten in six league outings and they come into the fixture on the back of last weekend's 5-1 demolition of Montpellier.

Manager Fournier insists his side go into the encounter with confidence but maintains they will need to be on top of their game to prevent Marseille from making club history at the Stade de Gerlard.

"The match against Marseille will be a great one. It is up to us to live up to the occasion," he said.

"If we are supposedly not a good team to play at the moment, then what do you say about OM who are almost unbeatable in the league and have quite incredible attacking strength?

"It is certainly going to be a very difficult match but very exciting to play. We are going into it with enough confidence, I hope."



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