Marseille strive to halt the slide

Olympique de Marseille hope a win at UEFA Champions League challengers LOSC Lille Métropole on Sunday can inject some spirit into a flagging campaign.

Shock exit
Since losing out to Czech side FK Mladá Boleslav in the first round of the UEFA Cup, Marseille have struggled to regain their early season form. With defeats in all three of their most recent Ligue 1 games, a campaign which began with UEFA Intertoto Cup success is descending into gloom. "The UEFA Cup defeat was particularly unexpected," said coach Albert Emon. "We didn't imagine how demoralising it might be after coming through the Intertoto Cup and the second qualifying round. I don't care what the result is in Lille, only the way the players react."

Mental issues
Reactions following the Mladá Boleslav debacle have been poor. A 3-0 win against Toulouse FC took Emon's men to second in the table, but they are now in freefall following defeats by Lyon, AS Saint-Etienne (in the League Cup), OGC Nice and, most recently, FC Lorient, 1-0 at home. "My team's problems are in their minds," said Emon. "They felt invincible after a few games but have fallen apart."

Ribéry subdued
No one symbolises this crisis of confidence quite like France winger Franck Ribéry. Just as he did a year ago, the FIFA World Cup finalist is going through a sticky patch. Lille, in contrast, are flying, soaring up to third place on the back of an unbeaten run that stretches back to 23 September. "We have no leader on the pitch," complained Marseille president Pape Diouf who is hoping that the return of Djibril Cissé - on loan from Liverpool FC - after breaking his leg on 7 June will ease the team's worries. Emon, however, has no news on that front. "There is no date at the moment for his comeback," he said.

'Just another game'
Lille have not won at home against Marseille since 5 October 2002 but they will feel this is as good a time as any to break that run. "Marseille won't be a turning point for us, just another game," insisted coach Claude Puel. "I just hope they won't come alive against us." In the round's other big games, league leaders Olympique Lyonnais take on Valenciennes FC tonight eager to make amends for their first defeat of the season, a 1-0 loss at Stade Rennais FC, and second-placed AS Nancy-Lorraine travel to Lorient.