Lyon v Marseille
Gérard Houllier will be hoping for a positive response from his Lyon team following their 2-0 mid-week loss to Roma in the
UEFA Champions League while Marseille are desperately searching for the points which would put them back in contention near the top of the league.
Marseille travel north to champions Lyon on Sunday evening in a match which promises much in the way of excitement. For the league leaders, the disappointment of their elimination from the
UEFA Champions League at the hands of Roma on Tuesday will need to be addressed. Even though they hold a 13 point advantage over Lens at the top of the table, there are still 11 more league games to be played until the end of the season.
Lyon also have a League Cup Final against Bordeaux at the Stade de France on March 31 to look forward to and so with two trophies still up for grabs, Gérard Houllier will not have much trouble motivating his team.
Injury-wise, Houllier will have a full squad at his disposal on Sunday and will welcome back Jérémy Toulalan who missed the mid-week defeat due to suspension.
Marseille, however, do have some injury problems, namely defender Julien Rodriguez who is set to miss at least two weeks of football after injuring his thigh last weekend. Franck Ribéry is still missing as is Wilson Oruma.
Without a win in their last six league games, and a goal in their last four, Marseille have hit a bad patch and injuries to important players have not come at a good time. However, such is the state of play in the table, that OM's bad run could be instantly turned good with a win. The three points won could elevate them up to fifth, only one point off third.
Looking back at past league fixtures between the two, Lyon hold a clear advantage, having lost just once in 17 years to Marseille at the Stade Gerland.
http://www.frenchleague.com/index.asp