Didier Deschamps would be looking to return http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Olympique-de-Marseille-c40127 back to winning ways when his side takes on Toulouse at the Stade Velodrome
Following a damaging 1-0 defeat at Stade Brestois 29 last weekend, Olympique de Marseille would be desperate to beat http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Toulouse-FC-c40751 at the Stade Velodrome.
Toulouse FC present a stiff test for Didier Deschamps’ side that is aiming to return to the top 3 by the end of the campaign. Like http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Olympique-Lyonnais-c40130, Marseille may also miss out on the Champions League next season which could be calamitous for a club already
under so much financial burden.
In the 1-0 defeat against Brest, Deschamps was left fuming when his side did not win a penalty. That defeat was OM’s first defeat of the new year and now leaves them in 8th place in the rankings which is something the club is not used to.
Les Phoceens are seven points behind third placed LOSC Lille and know that they have a mountain to climb in order to make it to the Champions League spot.
The defeat against Brest is certainly a major blow to their Champions League blows and the Rhone giants have to keep on winning while hoping for the other teams above them to drop points every now and then.
The defeat has halted their momentum and now, every game would be a make-or-break for them.
March would see Marseille play a sapping list of eight games which includes their Champions League visit to the San Siro against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/France-c2899 but Deschamps feels that such a testing calendar
is only because of his side’s hard work.
“We’re happy to have such a run of fixtures. That proves that we’re still in all competitions, it means we have been able to avoid obstacles. It’s perhaps difficult to play every three days and the month of March will be particularly tough in that regard,”
says Deschamps’ agent Guy Stephan.
Toulouse on the other hand, won their second consecutive game after beating struggling Sochaux 2-0. The win means that Alain Casanova’s side are in with a shot to play in the Europa League next season.
Toulouse are in a good position and Casanova feels that his side could dream about a great finish if they continue with the form they have shown in recent weeks.
Striker Emmanuel Riviere has scored four goals for Toulouse and feels that he should have been scoring more goals but is happy to be in the good books of fans.
However, Toulouse have won just once in their last nine away games and registering a win at the Velodrome could prove to be a difficult task for them.
Team news
Marseille
Loic Remy and Stephane Mbia are still sidelined. Andre Ayew is a major doubt while http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Germany-c2904 at Bremen.
Toulouse
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Franck-Tabanou-c14046 will start the game.
Predictions
Thought Marseille have a lot of injuries to worry about, Didier Deschamps has a talented pool of players to choose from. Toulouse on the other hand, will test Les Phoceens but leaving the Velodrome might be unlikely.
Predicted final score: Marseille 1-0 Toulouse
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