Thursday, August 13, 2009

Marseille Seek win in Montpellier

Marseille will look to continue their great start to the new Ligue 1 campaign when they 'host' Lille on neutral territory this weekend.

An inquiry has been launched as a result of an incident that took place at the Stade Velodrome on July 16, when part of a roof of a stage built for a Madonna concert collapsed, killing two workers.

With the inquiry still ongoing, OM will have to play their opening home game of the season away from the Velodrome.

Montpellier's Stade de la Mosson will therefore host OM's encounter with Les Dogues.

That might not be such a bad thing for the Mediterranean side, whose displays away from home last season were much better than those at the Velodrome.

They continued their strong form on their travels by beating Grenoble 2-0 last Saturday in the league's first round of fixtures for the new season, while Lille lost 2-1 at home to Lorient on Sunday.

"We are playing away so it's not easy for us," Marseille playmaker Hatem Ben Arfa told club's official website.

"It isn't very far from Marseille and the fans are going to travel over for it. But it is a shame because the Velodrome remains the Velodrome and even if there will be a lot of supporters at La Mosson, it will never be like the Velodrome.

"We will deal with it and be professional - we must be ready to play on any ground."

Marseille are many pundits' tip for the title this season but Bordeaux showed last weekend they are not going to relinquish their crown without a fight.

Les Girondins downed Lens 4-1 on Sunday to become the leaders of the fledgling table.

They take on Sochaux on Saturday, with the Montbeliard club also in buoyant mood following their 1-0 win at Auxerre at the weekend.

Rennes started the season on fire by hitting three without reply past promoted side Boulogne-sur-Mer and they are away on Sunday against Nice, who also won first time out, beating St Etienne 2-0.

Sunday's other match sees Boulogne host Grenoble, with the rest of the games taking place on Saturday.

Lyon began the season inauspiciously, needing a late free-kick from new signing Lisandro Lopez to earn them a point from a 2-2 draw at Le Mans.

It leaves Les Gones already two points behind chief rivals Bordeaux and OM so a home victory over Valenciennes is vital for Claude Puel's men.

Elsewhere, Lens host Auxerre, Lorient welcome Montpellier, Monaco go to Nancy, PSG entertain Le Mans and St Etienne travel to Toulouse.

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