On-song Cissé gunning for Bordeaux

Monaco winner
For all his youthful extravagance, many feared that Cissé's career was in terminal decline before the turn of the year. A meagre return of two goals from the first half of the Ligue 1 season earned the French international a lengthy spell on the bench and regular jeers from the Stade Vélodrome faithful, but since January he has been one of the principal motors of the Mediterranean club's march up the standings. Having been as low as 19th place in November, they again had Cissé to thank for returning to third last Sunday – his weaker left foot earning a 3-2 victory at AS Monaco FC, his 12th goal in his last 16 league outings.

Much at stake
"My left foot has a reputation for only really being used to get me on the team bus, so it was great that it brought us the three points," the 26-year-old joked. "Now we're going to rest and recuperate before welcoming Bordeaux." That is the game everyone is talking about in France this week, but with plenty at stake on either side it is easy to imagine both clubs lamenting such a tough test with just three matches remaining.

Lille slip
"They're second and ten points ahead of us," explained Cissé, whose own team enjoy a mere one-point advantage over AS Nancy-Lorraine in fourth. "They're a strong outfit but we'll do what we can because it's so important." Hosts OM certainly cannot afford to relax, having hampered their UEFA Champions League chances by losing 3-1 to LOSC Lille Métropole in their previous home fixture. "We mustn't think we've made it because that's what went wrong last time," said Cissé. "And I'm going to be suspended against Le Mans [UC 72 on the penultimate weekend of the season], so I'll have to give a bit more than everybody else."

Four-point gap
For Bordeaux – now assured of their return to the European élite – the goal will be to win and hope leaders Olympique Lyonnais falter yet again. Laurent Blanc's men were unable to pounce on Lyon's stalemate with SM Caen last time out, as they failed to breach ten-man OGC Nice, but former Marseille defender Blanc is desperate to reduce the four-point gap at the summit. "I was convinced Lyon wouldn't take maximum points," said Le Président, who earned his nickname during a two-year stint with OM. "And that's exactly what happened. I just never imagined we wouldn't overcome Nice."