Ligue 1 preview: Marseille, PSG face off

Bitter rivals Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain will face off in the biggest game in the Ligue 1 calendar on Sunday.

The Parisians, who squandered a 2-0 lead against Montpellier last weekend, need a repeat of their ‘La Classique’ victory over Marseille from earlier in the season if they are to remain in touching distance of top spot, currently occupied by Lille.

Didier Deschamps’ Marseille have now turned their full attention to the French title race after bowing out of the Champions League at the hands of Manchester United this week.

Marseille will need their two most expensive players, Lucho Gonzalez and Andre Pierre Gignac, to improve on their showing at Old Trafford if they are to record a positive result against PSG and potentially move into second spot on the table.

A loss for PSG could see them slip as far as 10 points behind league-leader Lille, a deficit which would be tough to erase with only 10 games remaining.

The round’s other eagerly-anticipated fixture sees Lyon host second-placed Stade Rennes, who fell to Marseille last week.

Lyon failed to continue their unbeaten record against Real Madrid in the Champions League, but can leap frog Rennes with a victory on Saturday.

League-leaders Lille, who have won in late, dramatic circumstances for two weeks on the bounce, travel to Brest in hope of extending their gap in the standings.

Brest are winless in their last three matches and Lille will be confident of maintaining their lead at the top with a win at the Stade Francis-Le Ble.

Elsewhere, Bordeaux visit Valenciennes with Jean Tigana’s mean needing a win if they want to stay in contention for a place in season’s Europa League, while Auxerre, who finished third last season, host Sochaux, needing a win to lift them out of the bottom three.

Saturday’s other fixtures sees Lorient host Saint Etienne, Montpellier travel to Lens, while Toulouse host Nice at the Stadium Municipal.

On Sunday, bottom side Arles take on Caen on the road while AS Monaco will be hoping to extend their three-game unbeaten streak when they meet fellow strugglers Nancy.