Lyon banking on more Benzema wonder strikes

Lyon will be hoping for more wonder strikes from French hotshot Karim Benzema this weekend as the first division leaders host Le Mans looking to pull clear of the pack.

The 20-year-old thundered in a long-range shot in Wednesday's 2-0 win over bottom club Sochaux, taking his tally to seven to become the league's top scorer.

“In the first half, I missed two good chances, and I had to make up for that because we needed this win,” said Benzema of the result that moves Lyon back to the top of the league after being briefly displaced by Bordeaux.

“In the second half, I shot and scored a nice goal, but I'm happy above all because this victory does us a lot of good,” Benzema added.

Lyon go into the 12th week of the championship with a three-point lead at the summit, and should ease to victory over Le Mans who recorded their third home defeat to Auxerre on Wednesday.

Losing at home also irked Paris Saint Germain coach Paul le Guen midweek, especially when the defeat to third-place Toulouse was down to a freak own goal.

Defender Zoumana Camara rose to clear from a corner kick only to head into his own net in a calamitous night in the French capital.

“Toulouse have real quality, and it's no surprise they are ahead of us in the table. We made a huge mistake for the goal,” said Le Guen, whose side travel to Nice this weekend.

“If you can't win, you have to try and get a draw at least. We didn't have the strength to go and get an equaliser.”

Toulouse, this year's surprise package considering they narrowly avoided relegation last season, host mid-table Caen on Saturday.

Monaco will hope that a flying visit from Prince Albert on Thursday will give the Principality side a regal boost as they travel north to face second-bottom Le Havre.

Another Mediterranean side on the receiving end of a pep-talk this week were Marseille – except this time it wasn't cultivated royal tones but the grisly rollicking of a disgruntled Eric Gerets.

Gerets dispensed his wily words of wisdom following his side's 1-1 draw with Nantes, which saw Marseille slip to fourth in the league.

“From time to time we're missing a killer in front of goal. We need someone who can pounce on the smallest of chances and smack the ball into the back of the net,” bellowed the Belgian coach.

Ironically, Marseille – with 21 goals from 11 matches – are the highest scoring team in the league going into Saturday's match with Saint Etienne.

But Gerets warned: “It won't be such a surprise if (in the winter transfer window) we make some changes up front.”

Bordeaux, who had held the league lead for 24 hours after hammering hapless Le Havre by four goals on Tuesday, travel to Nancy looking for a win to keep them on the heels of Lyon.

Laurent Blanc's men lost 1-0 away to Nancy last year, so they will have their work cut out.

Saturday

Auxerre v Valenciennes, Lille v Nantes, Lorient v Grenoble Foot, Nancy v Bordeaux, Nice v Paris Saint Germain, Toulouse v Caen, Marseille v Saint Etienne

Sunday

Le Havre v Monaco, Rennes v Sochaux, Lyon v Le Mans