Ligue 1 round 25

Saturday:
Nantes v Caen
Nancy v Lyon
Grenoble v PSG
Le Havre v Auxerre
Toulouse v Valenciennes
Lorient v Sochaux
Nice v Rennes
Sunday:
St Etienne v Bordeaux
Marseille v Le Mans
Lille v Monaco

The big action this week is down at the bottom of the league this week, with the big one being Le Havre v Auxerre. With Auxerre winning last week, they've just eased away from the bottom and another three points here will put them up towards mid-table. St Etienne dropped into the bottom three after Valenciennes beat Caen in midweek to pull themselves out of it. All three of those clubs will be doing well to get anything out of their games this weekend, though St Etienne had a very good win in midweek in the UEFA Cup. Valenciennes go to Toulouse who are still in the thick of it up at the top and Caen have a tough trip to Nantes. With the likes of Valenciennes moving up, Grenoble are looking vulnerable and form side PSG visit the Alps this week. Paul Le Guen rested Claude Makelele, Ludo Giuly and Jeremy Clement for the UEFA Cup game against Wolfsburg in the week - a comfortable 2-0 win - and are scoring for fun. Grenoble's good start saw them win 1-0 at the Parc des Princes early in the season, so there's a whiff of revenge in the mountain air.

Sochaux also slipped into the drop zone in recent weeks and they go to Lorient this week, whose European tilt has taken a turn for the worse lately. Sochaux hoped welcome back skipper Stephane Dalmat who has been out for a long time, but his knee problem flared up again after 70 minutes in the reserves in the week. With five out injured and one suspended, this could be tougher for Lorient than it needs to be. Rennes have just fallen away recently after getting as high as second, but a Nice win will lift them above the Brittany side. Lille missed a chance to draw closer on the leaders with a 0-0 draw with Le Mans on Wednesday and their once-likely title challenge has now faded. But a home game against Monaco gives them a good chance to get back on track with the Principality side poor away from the Stade Louis II and Lille especially string on their own midden.

Marseille were beaten at home by FC Twente in midweek in Europe, but should have a happier time at the Vélodrome this weekend when Le Mans visit. They've slipped five points behind the leaders over the last few weeks, but with Le Mans not having won since November, they should be OK here despite injury worries over Mamadou Niang and Brandao. Lyon travel to Nancy looking to maintain the gap at the top and they should do just that. After some rocky weeks, the multiple champions look back to form - although at home they could still do to sharpen up - and appear on course for eight-in-a-row.