Marseille could barely have bounded into their Thursday night meeting with AS Saint-Etienne in higher spirits having downed Classique rivals and Ligue 1 Uber Eats champions Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 last Sunday, but they came back to Earth with a thud, losing 2-0 as les Verts pulled to the top of the standings.

There have been no such hiccups for Christophe Galtier's Lille side. Following their opening day 1-1 draw with Stade Rennais FC, les Dogues have won back-to-back games against Stade de Reims and FC Metz 1-0 and could climb onto the summit above Saint-Etienne - at least until ASSE play FC Nantes on Sunday - with another three-point haul.

Jonathan David and Burak Yilmaz have gelled quickly in LOSC's attack following their summer arrivals from Gent and Besiktas respectively. The former, spearheading a golden Canadian generation with Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies, is on the shortlist for the 2020 Golden Boy award, although it is relative old-hand Jonathan Bamba who has scored two of the visitors' three goals this term.

Watch: Highlights of LOSC's 1-0 win over Metz

"The team has been getting better and better by the day," said a rather pleased Galtier after the Metz win - secured when Luiz Araujo capped off a fine team goal. "We still have a lot of work to do but I have a quality group and the mood is starting to grow. It's starting to be a good bunch of friends; the players are working for each other."

Galtier has a full-strength squad to choose from and is unlikely to deviate from the 4-4-2 system which has made his side one of just four undefeated teams in the league after three rounds of games played.

Marseille did beat Lille home and away last season, however, and showed they needn't fear anyone with their victory over PSG. That game came at a cost in terms of personnel, however, with Jordan Amavi and Dario Benedetto red carded in the dying embers at the Parc des Princes.

Watch: Highlights of Marseille's 1-0 win over PSG

Bouna Sarr could come in for Amavi with Hiroki Sakai shifting from right- to left-back. Benedetto's absence means Galtier's opposite number André Villas-Boas might have to stick with the experiment of Dimitri Payet, Florian Thauvin and Maxime Lopez in a fluid front three, although the latter could make way for Marley Aké having been hooked at half-time against Sainté.

"Obviously, the responsibility is still mine, you don't need to tell me," Villas Boas said when pressed on OM's rather listless performance on Thursday. "The plan didn't work today, we lacked depth. This improved in the second half with Marley; we found more space between the lines, but we missed chances. We tried but we can't say it worked. Things still look good on paper…"

Despite that result, Marseille could also find themselves top, over the weekend, although they also need a seven-goal swing set against Saint-Etienne's result. Morgan Sanson is unlikely to start, last season's five-goal, four-assist midfielder still overcoming a muscular injury; while the Leonardo Balerdi the left-back experiment is likely to be abandoned.

Possible line-ups

Marseille: Mandanda; Sarr, Alvaro, Caleta-Car, Sakai; Rongier, Kamara, Strootman; Thauvin, Aké, Payet

Lille: Maignan; Celik, Fonte, Botman, Bradaric; Ikoné, André, Xeka, Bamba; Yilmaz, David