Bordeaux battle to hold off Ligue challengers

Champions Bordeaux, fresh from booking their first-ever last eight Champions League appearance, turn their focus back to the French league this weekend and the complex battle of holding on to their fractional lead from a pursuing pack of five.

The western French outfit squeezed into the Champions League quarter-finals midweek after a tense 2-1 victory at home against Olympiakos gave them a 3-1 aggregate win in a tie that saw three men sent off.

But their lead on top of the French league is solely thanks to goal difference as both they and Montpellier are on 53 points, although the champions have a game in hand.

There is very little room to manoeuvre at the top of the table, with Bordeaux, Montpellier, Auxerre, Lille, Lyon and Marseille seperated by just three points.

And after last weekend failed to separate the sides with fourth-placed Lille the only side from the top six to win amid a series of uninspiring draws, they will all be raring to pull ahead this weekend.

Bordeaux face one of the trickiest tasks at their Stade Chaban-Delmas Sunday against Lille, who are just two points behind them.

“We now have to have to focus on this important match against Lille,” manager Laurent Blanc told his players after their European celebrations.

But Yoann Gourcuff, who scored the opener on Wednesday night, believes their European success has given them a boost.

“We’re hoping this qualification will give us confidence for the rest of the season,” said Gourcuff, as Bordeaux meet Marseille in the League Cup final on March 27 before the Champions League games on March 30 and April 7.

Second-placed Montpellier host midtable Valenciennes, who picked up five casualties in last weekend’s 2-0 loss to Rennes.

Auxerre, in third, will be counting on all three points against relegation-threatened Le Mans who are also struggling with several injury concerns as former multiple champions Lyon travel to Marseille, with both sides coming off 1-1 draws last weekend.

Meanwhile, beleaguered Paris Saint Germain travel to Nice with serious questions hanging over their future after the death Thursday of a 37-year-old fan two weeks after being beaten up by rival PSG supporters.

French Secretary of State for Sport Rama Yade warned the club that action will be taken unless they get to grip with their gangs of rival fans, and the Paris club were ordered to play their French Cup match, scheduled for Tuesday at Auxerre, behind closed doors.

Elsewhere, Monaco travel to tailenders Grenoble, St. Etienne host Nancy and Toulouse travel to Brittany side Rennes as Bologne look to build on last weeks 3-1 win over Nancy to move out of their spot second from bottom.

Fixtures

Saturday (1800 GMT un less stated)

Grenoble v Monaco, Auxerre v Le Mans, Boulogne v Lorient, Rennes v Toulouse, Saint Etienne v Nancy, Nice v Paris Saint Germain, Lens v Sochaux (2000)

Sunday

Bordeaux v Lille (1600), Montpellier v Valenciennes (1600), Marseille v Lyon (2000)