Stade Velodrome, Marseille will see http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Olympique-de-Marseille-c40127 host reigning Ligue 1 champions LOSC Lille in week 20 of the 2011/2012 Ligue 1 action. Didier Deschamps would be looking to get the best out of his side without the presence of Andre Ayew
Didier Deschamps Olympique de Marseille will face LOSC Lille in Week 20 of the Ligue 1 Championelle in a game that would certainly give an indication of how both sides’ respective second halves of the campaigns will unfold.
Life without Ayew
The African Cup of Nations means that Marseille will be without the services of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jordan-Ayew-c19098. Les Phoceens relied heavily on the services of Andre Ayew throughout the first half of the campaign and the
youngster’s absence would be sorely missed.
However, Marseille have already made a good start to 2012 having won both their cup games. In coupe de http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Red-Star-c40350 5-0 while in the Coupe de la Ligue quarter-final, Les Phoceens beat fellow-Ligue 1 side Caen 3-0 to progress to
the semi-final.
In that game, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mathieu-Valbuena-c24690 scored two goals while Loic Remy scored one to dispose of the Normandy side. However, Didier Deschamps knows that against Lille, his side will be thoroughly tested.
“We qualified without a scare and without wasting too much energy, but we must keep our feet on the ground as on Sunday it will be a very different game."
Lille set to recover
After crashing out of the Coupe de la Ligue at the hands of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Joe-Cole-c18694 gave Les Dogues the lead but Lyon went on to win the game 2-1 despite being a man down with ten minutes left.
"We had a great hand, but Lyon showed more desire. The fact that they went a man down inspired them, but we were below-par in terms of athleticism and hunger," said Garcia, whose side never looked likely to hold on to the lead afforded them by Joe Cole's
28th-minute strike, the Englishman's fourth goal in two cup ties following his hat-trick in the 6-0 French Cup rout of Chantilly last weekend. "It's not enough to dominate and play well if you're not able to pressurise your opponents and accelerate your play
in the final third. We have to get a grip quickly as Sunday's game will also be difficult," said Rudi Garcia.
The midweek defeat must have eroded some of the confidence in the Lille training camp. However, Les Dogues must take heart with the fact that they are currently on a 17-game unbeaten run in the league which is a club record.
Furthermore, the absence of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Souleymane-Diawara-c33850 and Andre Ayew due to the African Cup of Nations means that Lille might have a chance of returning to winning ways against a Marseille side that will be no mere pushover despite the obvious limitations in their
attacking http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arsenal-c38429.
Team news
Marseille
After serving one-match bans, Stephane Mbia and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Morgan-Amalfitano-c26799 are once again available for selection. Striker Andre-Pierre Gignac is still out with an adductor injury while Jeremy Morel might be fit again.
Lille
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mickaël-Landreau-c25513 will replace Vincent Enyema in goal after being rested against Lyon.
Predicted final score: Marseille 0-1 Lille
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