Baup focuses Toulouse minds

Toulouse FC coach Elie Baup has told his players to put next week's UEFA Champions League meeting with Liverpool FC out of their minds as they chase their first points of the season at home to Olympique Lyonnais.

'Good test'
Toulouse, who finished third last term, kicked off the campaign with a 3-1 defeat away to Valenciennes FC and Baup is demanding an improvement against the champions on Saturday. "Lyon will be a good test for the players to show what they're capable of," Baup said. "At home we have to give our fans more." Toulouse expect a bumper crowd for the visit of Lyon while 30,000 tickets have already been sold for the Liverpool game on Wednesday.

Key contests
However, Baup believes such high-profile fixtures are not the most important that his side will face this season. "I told my players that the key games for us are not Lyon or Liverpool, but to avoid defeat at Valenciennes and next week at Strasbourg. They are our real rivals. We have to take points off teams like that. We failed to do that in Valenciennes because the Champions League was on everyone's mind."

'Motivated'
Lyon began their title defence with an impressive 2-0 win over AJ Auxerre at Stade de Gerland, but coach Alain Perrin has told his players they will not have it easy this weekend. "We failed to beat Toulouse last season and they will be motivated after their loss at Valenciennes," said Perrin. Also on Saturday, Valenciennes travel to AS Saint-Etienne. Coach Antoine Kombouaré has spent the week saying that keeping pole position is "not the priority". "The real one is to lead this team into a new stadium [in 2009/10] still in the top flight," he said. Elsewhere, SM Caen visit AS Nancy-Lorraine and Olympique de Marseille host Stade Rennais FC.