Saturday 12 December 2009

  19:00 - Olympique de Marseille / Boulogne Côte d'Opale 

With Marseille readjusting their European ambitions to the Europa League after crashing out 3-1 in their Champions League match with Real Madrid on Tuesday night, the focus is now back on Ligue 1 and getting the results they need to qualify for Champions League football next season.

Coach Didier Deschamps confirmed that Marseille need to get on track in the league. "All I'm thinking about now is Ligue 1, which has been, is and will remain our top priority. My main objective is to get good results in our four matches before the winter break. Our season objective remains the same: a top-three finish."

Defender Souleymane Diawara agreed. "We simply have to forget about our elimination from the Champions League. That's behind us now and we need to concentrate on Boulogne. We need to be aware that it will be a tough match and prepare well to take the three points. They'll defend with ten men and just one up front, playing on the counter. We'll have to be careful, as they just beat Lens, and it'll be disappointing not to get all three points. If we want to enjoy Christmas, we need to grab all the points on offer before then."

Niang out

The main obstacle for Deschamps and his men to take 12 points before the break (games against Boulogne, Lorient, Saint-Etienne and Auxerre) will be the absence of Senegal international Mamadou Niang, ruled out for four to six weeks after injuring his shoulder against Madrid.

Niang has been one of Marseille's top performers so far this season and will be sorely missed, Senegal teammate Diawara explained. "He'll do what he can to get back as quickly as possible. We've lost someone very important to us both on and off the pitch - he's our captain and top scorer. We'll miss him, but we'll have to find a solution."

The solution in question could well be wayward attacking prodigy Hatem Ben Arfa, whose inconsistent form and temperament has seen his limited mainly to coming off the bench this season.

"With his quality and his talent, he's capable," said Deschamps. "He has the physical and technical qualities, but can he produce for more than ten or 15 minutes at a time? I don't doubt his desire, his capacity nor his talent but he needs to prove it on the pitch. He was thrust into the limelight at an early age and expectations are high. Really though it's up to him."

Niang's inury aside, Deschamps has a full-strength squad to choose from but could rest some first-choice players ahead of their Week 18 clash with Lorient on Wednesday, for which Brazilian striker Brandao will be suspended after receiving three yellow cards in fewer than ten Ligue 1 matches.

Boulogne will be looking to keep the ball rolling after securing just their third win of the season against Lens 2-1 last week, a win that ended a winless run of 11 matches that included eight defeats.

'Incredibly dangerous'

Battling through a staggering injury list that included no fewer than four forwards (Grégory Thil, Matt Moussilou, Jérémy Blayac and Daniel Moreira), as well as having Mama N'Diaye sent off, Boulogne showed true grit in securing the win and will take newfound confidence to their match at the Stade Vélodrome, even though they know they face a huge task in trying to secure just their second away win of the season.

"Marseille are a really good team," noted Boulogne defender Anthony Lecointe. "They could well rest some top players against us, but even when they rotate their squad, they're impressive. Koné, Valbuena, Morientes. For them it's a B-team, but for us they're still incredibly dangerous."

With striker Alexandre Cuvillier aggravating a thigh strain in the Lens win, as well as Mame N'Diaye serving a suspension following his send-off, Lakdar Boussaha could start up front alongside Fabien Robert.

Defenders Nicolas Rabuel and Kévin Das Neves have both been ruled out through injury but Yoann Lachor has returned to the squad and could start.

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