Marseille on a mission in Lyon

'Big achievement'
Lyon, 12 points clear of second-placed AJ Auxerre after 20 matches, have made an emphatic start to the new year, recording successive 4-0 victories against struggling RC Strasbourg in Ligue 1 and Grenoble Foot 38 in the French Cup. Seventh-placed Marseille's return to action was not so comfortable, as they were held 1-1 by another of the chasing pack, RC Lens. "We dropped two points," said defender Frédéric Déhu. "We know it's going to be really tough at times against Lyon and if we lose then it will be expected. However, if we win, we can look on it as a big achievement."

Ribéry call
Winger Franck Ribéry, reportedly the subject of interest from some of the continent's leading clubs, was more forthright when questioned about his side's chances of victory. "Plenty is made about Lyon but we are Marseille after all and must go there aiming high," said the France Under-21 starlet. Excepted the loss of Abdoulaye Méïté, Taye Taiwo and Mamadou Niang to the African Cup of Nations, Jean Fernandez is able to select from a full squad.

'No pressure'
The coach will doubtless have been pleased to see new signings Jérôme Bonnissel and Toifilou Maoulida impress in the 4-0 French Cup success against Le Havre AC, and could now hand them Ligue 1 debuts in Marseille's toughest away test of all. The same applies to Mickaël Pagis after he completed his €1m move from RC Strasbourg yesterday, although Fernandez was keen to play down the significance of the fixture. "Our key game of the week comes at the weekend," he said, referring to Sunday's visit of Stade Rennais FC. "In Lyon there is no pressure on us to get a result."

Tight league
Kidology or not, Fernandez knows Marseille cannot afford to drop too many points against other teams in a congested top half of the table as they look to bring UEFA Champions League football back to the Vélodrome. Second spot is a more realistic target than the title, with Auxerre just three points better off than Marseille despite being five places higher; indeed, only seven points separate Burgundy's finest from Le Mans UC 72 in eleventh.

Houllier confident
Lyon are another case entirely, having lost just once all season - to LOSC Lille Métropole on 16 December. "For us, a new league has started in 2006," said coach Gérard Houllier. "But we know we'll retain the title if the second half of our season is as good as the first." Lyon winger Sidney Govou added: "Marseille is always a big game. I'm from a generation that grew up with [Chris] Waddle, [Jean-Pierre] Papin and so on. Now they have Franck Ribéry - the most impressive player in the league."

Sub-plot
An intriguing subplot is the meeting of Grégory Coupet and Fabien Barthez, the two men competing for France's No1 jersey at this summer's FIFA World Cup. "Naturally, we'll shake hands," said Lyon's Coupet. "There is no animosity between us."